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Supreme Court dismisses appeal from High Court, and affirms dismissal of claim by dentists against Health Service Executive (HSE) for breach of its standard contract with dentists, where the HSE had unilaterally limited the treatment that would be funded under the contract, in reliance on a provision that permitted it to take any necessary measures to operate within budgetary constraints.
Charleton J (nem diss): Claim by dentists against Health Service Executive (HSE) - alleged breach of contract - payment for dental provision to holders of medical cards - reimbursement for treatments - all routine treatments up to 2010 - thereafter only emergency treatment - 1994 contract, revised in 1999 - unilateral changes made by HSE in 2010 purportedly pursuant to provisions in the 1999 revised contract - whether wording of 1999 revisions permitted such changes - cost of scheme found excessive by 2009 - whether plaintiff dentists were parties to the 1999 revision - changes restrained by decision of High Court (Laffoy J) in 2010 - substantive action dismissed by High Court (Murphy J) in 2011 - nature of contracts - acknowledgement of budgetary constraints in side letters - whether HSE entitled to take any measures necessary to meet budget constraints - whether words clear enough to allow one party to unilaterally vary terms of the agreement - binding nature of collective contract - construction of contract - intention of parties - what a reasonable person would have understood the words to mean.
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