Tenerife dental clinic says Irish inquiries have dried up

A dental clinic on the Spanish island of Tenerife, staff at which said they were willing to give An Garda Síochána details of their Irish clients, say a sudden surge in interest from people in the State has stopped.

A week ago staff at Dental Clinic Tenerife Sur told The Irish Times that at least 50 people based in Ireland had been in touch requesting a letter or email of appointment, but that none of them had turned up.

It was widely believed the bookings were being made to avoid potential fines on their return to the State for travelling abroad without a reasonable excuse during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Government has since announced plans to increase the fine for leaving the country for non-essential reasons from €500 to €2,000 per person.

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Receptionist Roberta Beccaris said the dental clinic had been puzzled by the increase in interest from Ireland. The clinic does not specialise in “dental tourism”, as dentists in some EU countries do, and it does not advertise in Ireland.

“The last two weeks have been crazy. They were calling constantly and sending emails,” she said.

Since the rise in bookings was reported in the media and the increased penalty proposed, the flow of emails and phone calls to the clinic has dried up.

“They have gone. We think they must have read the newspapers or heard the reports on the radio because we are not getting any more requests for appointments from Ireland,” she said.