Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and acknowledge the broad statement they made earlier. I have read the executive summary. Dr. Barney Murphy and I spent some time together in the South Western Area Health Board. He gave me an outline of what maxillofacial surgery was about. I had to ask him on many occasions what we were talking about. I welcome him; it is nice to see him again.

As a citizen of this country, when there is a sign over a door that indicates a GP or dental clinic and one goes through the door, one leaves one's health in the hands of the people behind that door. When I go in I want to see a welcoming place, a clean place. I want the people behind the desk and those doing the surgery to be professional and to know what they are doing. That starts from the time one walks into any surgery and how one is treated by the receptionist.

In my experience, in some of the places I have attended over many years that has not been the case. When I had young children, they were sent to the local health centre for examination of their teeth through the school. I always found them very welcoming people, if not welcoming places. Certainly I had no difficulty with the professionalism of the people involved in polishing teeth, etc., but the state of the premises left a lot to be desired. Thankfully, things are changing in that regard with new primary care centres locally, which have helped.

There is nothing in the summary with which I disagree. However, I suppose the witnesses are here because they believe the legislation, as proposed, will not cover some of these things. That is something for the committee to identify and address.

On a daily basis, we hear advertisements on radio and television promoting other forms of dentistry abroad. People on these advertisements outline their great successes but I, and other public representatives, hear of the damage that can be done to people when they travel abroad not very far from our own shores. I have a fear about people not being professional, whether in this country or elsewhere.

I do not have much to add. I am not a dentist, thank God, or a medical professional. However, I believe that someone going into a clinic should be able to put their confidence in the medical team. Everything should be above board and professional. Some people are being seriously damaged, not only through malpractice but through people claiming to be professionals when they are far from professional. The Government and this committee need to seriously look at how to identify these people and take them out of the system, as Deputy Kelleher said earlier.

I thank the Dental Council of Ireland for its presentation and for taking time out to come here this morning.