We have raised our concerns at the Northern Ireland Executive’s failure to adequately mitigate new costs imposed on dental practices resulting from the rise to National Insurance employer contributions (NIC).
Following our joint press release urging the Executive to act to avert a collapse in primary care, the Finance Minister has instead confirmed that just £3.5m is being allocated to address the cost impact of National Insurance contributions on dental practices, GP practices, community pharmacies and other family practitioner providers. Clearly, this is but a drop in the ocean and falls considerably short of the £36.5m annual cost which is the figure accepted by the Department of Health, and of which over £10m represents the impact on dental practices alone.
Furthermore, the Executive’s decision not to ringfence £146m of additional Barnett consequential funds coming from Westminster to mitigate National Insurance increases is extremely disappointing. While global funding fell short of what was required, only the Northern Ireland Executive can shoulder responsibility for how it has arrived at its priorities, including the consequences which will be felt on Primary Care services in Northern Ireland.
This ‘prioritisation’ equates to disinvestment in essential and struggling primary care services across our local community, which runs counter to the ‘shift left’ and transformation of Health and Social Care;
At a time when many dental practices are being forced to shift their business models away from Health Service dentistry because fees are simply not viable, we have warned this latest funding shortfall will swing the pendulum further away from the Health Service. Patient access to Health Service dentistry will be dealt a further blow, impacting most acutely on those who cannot afford to pay for private dental care, and widening inequalities.
This decision comes at a time when all primary care providers are struggling to continue to provide NHS care for their patients; it comes at a time when dental practices still have no certainty over what additional funding will be provided for the 2025-26 year to ‘top up’ inadequate fees, despite the new financial year having already started. It adds to the considerable uncertainty that is facing many of our practices.
When we met with the Minister and his officials, we urged for maximum investment in General Dental Services (GDS) in 2025-26 as our best efforts of maximising access to care and shoring up the sustainability of that service. The Executive’s response on the National Insurance issue sends an incredibly worrying signal. In addition to this, we continue to await clarity on what investment will be provided for GDS for 2025-26.
We have warned that this latest funding shortfall will have direct consequences, and that the Northern Ireland Executive should not wash its hands of its responsibilities to ensure the future sustainability of essential health services to our population, including those most vulnerable.
Watch and listen back to our warnings on how National Insurance Contributions will affect dentistry in Northern Ireland below (sign-in required for the BBC coverage):
- BBC News: NI dentists 'will have to shrink NHS element to keep lights on'
- Sunday Politics Northern Ireland - 13/04/2025 - BBC iPlayer
- The Nolan Show - 10/04/2025 - The impact of NIC on dentistry (Northern Ireland Dental Practice Committee Chair Ciara Gallagher) - BBC Sounds Timing: 0:08:18
- Good Morning Ulster - 07/04/2025 - The impact of NIC and National Minimum Wage increases (Gerard Greene, CPNI0 - BBC Sounds Timing: 1:08:00
- Belfast Live: Northern Ireland's health services at risk of collapse over NIC and minimum wage increases