Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 May 2026
787. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of undergraduate places available in each university dental school for each of the years 2021 to 2025; the number of those places allocated to Irish, EU and non-EU students, respectively, in each of those years; the fee charged to each category of student in each of those years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35848/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am committed to increasing healthcare training capacity, including in dentistry, in line with the Programme for Government and national workforce planning priorities.
The Department of Health has advised that dentistry is a priority area requiring additional graduate supply to meet population needs and to support the delivery of public dental services. In response, my Department, working through the Higher Education Authority, is actively engaging with the Department of Health and with higher education institutions to support the sustainable expansion of dental education, with a clear focus on increasing opportunities for Irish and EU students.
While higher education institutions are autonomous under legislation and manage their own enrolment policies, my Department engages closely with institutions to ensure that programmes linked to identified public service skills needs, such as medicine and dentistry, maintain an appropriate balance between Irish/EU and international student participation. I note in this context that Irish and EU students currently make up over 60 per cent of undergraduate dentistry enrolments nationally.
In practical terms, targeted expansions are already underway. A new Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme commenced at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland last year, providing 20 Irish/EU student places, with capacity to increase to 35 places from 2027, subject to approval. In addition, my officials are actively engaging with University College Cork and the Department of Health on a proposal for a dental outreach centre in North Cork, which would support additional undergraduate places and enhance clinical training through earlier exposure in community-based settings.
These measures reflect a focused and sustainable approach to increasing dental training places for Irish students, aligned with the Smile agus Sláinte oral health policy and wider health workforce objectives.
In relation to the specific information requested by the Deputy - including the number of undergraduate dentistry places available in each institution, the allocation of those places between Irish/EU and non-EU students - this information has been compiled from data provided by the Higher Education Authority in tabular format.
The Deputy may wish to note that Higher Education Authority data is subject to rounding to the nearest five, with figures rounded independently. As a result, components may not sum precisely to totals and minor year-to-year variations can arise.
Notwithstanding this, the number of EU dentistry places has remained broadly stable in recent years, with further capacity expected through planned programme expansion, including at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Annual enrolment figures may also be influenced by operational factors such as deferrals, withdrawals and backfilling, repeat students, and the issuing of late offers. Small adjustments between EU and non-EU cohorts may also occur, while overall balance is maintained.
For EU students studying undergraduate dentistry in Ireland, the programmes at University College Dublin (UCD), Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and University College Cork (UCC) are all eligible under the Free Fees Initiative. This means the State pays the full tuition cost, and students are required to pay only the standard student contribution of €2,500 per annum and mandatory levies.
Across some programmes in addition to the student contribution an institutional levy may be applied such as capitation or student centre charges, which are administered directly by the higher education institutions. These vary across programmes between €200 and €1,000.
Despite the very high economic cost of delivering dentistry programmes, fee levels for EU students are broadly consistent across all three institutions, with no requirement for EU students to pay full economic fees
