Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 March 2025
678. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the extent to which she is aware that dental screening for children in many areas is not taking place until 6th class, despite the recommendation for checks in 2nd, 4th, and 6th class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9253/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra679. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health if she acknowledges the significant understaffing in dental services, with some areas still working through backlogs of 6th class students who graduated in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9254/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra680. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the immediate steps she will take to address the shortage of public dentists, given the 23% reduction in HSE dentists between 2006 and 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9255/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra681. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the way in which she plans to reduce the estimated 104,000 children on waiting lists for school dental screening services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9256/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra682. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health if she agrees that preventative dental care should be accessible to all children regardless of socio-economic background; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9257/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra683. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the measures she will implement to ensure equitable access to dental care for children across all socio-economic groups; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9258/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra684. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the way in which she intends to address the 31% reduction in children seen by HSE dentists over the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9259/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra685. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health if she will commit to increasing funding and resources for the public dental service to restore it to previous levels of provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9260/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra686. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Health the long-term strategy she has to improve children's dental health outcomes and reduce inequality in access to dental care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9261/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra756. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the measures she is taking to tackle the lack of dental treatment services being delivered in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9673/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra758. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health her plans to expand public dentistry, with a particular focus on addressing the backlog in the schools' system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9675/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra759. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health for an update on the implementation of the national oral health policy; when the first phase will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9676/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra760. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that orthodontic waiting lists in Cork are currently approximately five years for school-going children; what measures are being taken to reduce these waiting times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9677/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra762. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if she will provide an update on the implementation of the national oral health policy, Smile agus Sláinte; if she will provide a timeline for implementation; the cost of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9679/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 678, 679, 680, 681, 682, 683, 684, 685, 686, 756, 758, 759, 760 and 762 together.
There are challenges in the provision of dental services, including for children, and patients are waiting longer than they should have to, to access care. Therefore, in addition to the over €200m that the Government invests in public oral healthcare services annually, further investment in recent years is protecting access to the current model of service while also supporting fundamental service reform through implementation of the National Oral Health Policy.
€17m in one-off funding has been invested between 2022 and 2024 to support access to children’s orthodontic treatment. This funding has seen the creation of a new initiative supporting access to jaw surgery for orthodontic patients and the transfer of over 4000 patients into private, community-based orthodontic treatment. A further €2.85m is being invested this year to continue these successful orthodontic treatment waiting list initiatives and enable children to access orthodontic care.
A further €15m in recurring annual funding has been provided between 2022 and 2024, which is supporting progression of the National Oral Health Policy, Smile Agus Sláinte across a range of measures. In 2025, an additional €2m in funding is supporting continued policy implementation and the hiring of 15 HSE oral healthcare staff to improve access to existing community services in our HSE dental and orthodontic clinics.
In the longer-term, the National Oral Health Policy sets out the vision for oral healthcare services in Ireland and has two key goals:
• to provide the supports to enable every individual to achieve their personal best oral health.
• to reduce oral health inequalities across the population, by enabling vulnerable groups to access oral healthcare and improve their oral health.
Reform of our services is vital to enable people of all ages to access modern, prevention-focused care. A plan for the first phase of implementation to end-2027 is being finalised by my Department and the HSE and contains reform of primary care services for adults and children as priorities.
The ESRI worked with my Department during the policy development phase to provide indicative costings for the delivery of various interventions under the proposed packages of care for children and for adult medical holders, based on the current fees at that time, and it was estimated that the cost of implementing the packages in full would be in the region of €80m.
The development and roll-out of these packages will take place incrementally over the next number of years. The detail of the packages and the resource requirements will be agreed as part of the policy implementation process. The progressing of any measures with resource implications will be dependent on the outcome of the normal budgetary process in any given year.
The Policy contains a range of strategic workforce planning actions to increase national workforce capacity, in support of improving patient access to care. The Department of Health is currently finalising a workforce census for oral healthcare and has commenced work on a scoping project for a mid-level professional grade for oral healthcare, as an additional measure to increase capacity in the workforce. A programme to encourage the redistribution of oral healthcare professionals to underserved areas is also a key action in the Policy. For oral healthcare professionals working in isolated rural areas far away from centres of education, it will be essential to provide support in the form of mentoring programmes as well as by introducing long-distance and accessible continuing development education programmes.
