Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Chuaigh níos mó ná 100,000 páiste bunscoile gan choinne scagthástála fiaclóireachta anuraidh. Tá sé soiléir ó Fheidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte gur tharla seo mar gheall nach bhfuil an fheidhmeannacht ábalta níos mó baill foirne fiaclóireachta poiblí a earcú mar gheall ar an gcosc earcaíochta atá i bhfeidhm ag an Rialtas agus mar gheall ar mhíbhainistíocht ár seirbhísí sláinte. Gan dabht, tá níos fearr tuillte ag ár bpáistí. More than 100,000 primary school children went without dental screening appointments last year. That is according to the Irish Dental Association's analysis of the HSE data. More than 200,000 children were eligible for school dental screening appointments with public dentists, but only half of them received appointments. The other half were left without what they were entitled to. Children should be seen in second, fourth and sixth classes, because those are the years that correspond with dental milestones. Screening at these points is essential. It is necessary to identify early signs of disease or a need for more serious orthodontic intervention. Delays in these assessments reduce the chance of preventative measures when the disease is not caught early. Without preventative care, children face poor oral health.

The HSE corresponded with my colleague Deputy Cullinane and expressed concern at the extent of the backlog in preventative intervention and treatment, which the public health service has not been able to manage. The HSE has been clear about why this happened. It stated that the ability to offer services to children in each of the school years has been limited due to the availability of dental staff. No surprises there. The Irish Dental Association has stated that compared with 15 years ago, there are 74 fewer public dentists. That is a drop of 23%. The burden of missed care falls disproportionately on lower income households in rural and urban communities. At the same time as the collapse of the school screening programme, the number of dentists providing care to medical card holders has also collapsed. In 2016 - eight years ago - there were 1,600 dentists on that scheme; now there are only 800. Every year, the numbers decline. That means that if their parents do not have deep pockets and cannot afford private healthcare, ranging from hundreds to thousands of euro for fillings, crowns and implants, these children face dental decay, poor oral health and even tooth loss. They are more likely to suffer pain and to miss school, and it impacts their education and their social life. The Irish Dental Association has estimated a dentist shortage of about 500 across the public and private systems.

When asked about plans the HSE had to hire more public dentists, the response was devastating. The HSE informed my colleague David Culliane that the embargo does not allow it currently to appoint any dental staff not at consultant level. It also stated that while the embargo is in place, no additional staff will be appointed. That is the nub of the problem. The Government is preventing our health service from recruiting staff to treat our children while one in two of them goes without what they are entitled to. The HSE cannot recruit public dental staff, other than consultants, because of the Government's decision and because of the Government recruitment embargo that is still in place. The Government is driving the privatisation of basic dental services, despite the fact that the vast majority of private dentists strongly support this essential service, particularly for children in school. It is one of the most basic forms of cost-effective, preventative healthcare. The Government is punishing ordinary families who cannot afford private healthcare as a result of its own incompetence and mismanagement of the health budget.

Our children deserve better. They do not deserve to be waiting and waiting. Access to care needs to be on the basis of need, not the ability to pay. Will the Government now, finally, lift its ludicrous recruitment embargo and launch a serious catch-up programme for these children? Will the Minister tell us what the Government's plans are to recruit and train more dentists?

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