Dr. Eamon Croke:

On the voluntary register, the point had been reached where we had agreed to an assessment. The Dental Technicians Association of Ireland had identified hundreds of dental technicians who were willing to be involved in the scheme. The Dental Council of Ireland had identified, by way of an assessment carried out by the Auxiliary Dental Workers Committee, chaired by Professor Nunn, that approximately one in eight dental technicians had no proof or evidence of their educational qualifications or skills. We also worked with the Dental Technicians Association of Ireland on the issue. The summary policy was then issued by the Department and everything stopped. In fairness to the Department, that happened by accident rather than by design. In the past two weeks everybody stood back weeks waiting to see what would happen next. An early green light from the Department to progress the development of the register and encourage those without skills who want to become involved to register would be welcome. There are multiple reasons for putting the register in place, including the identification of technicians, raising standards and preparation for the future. It is important that people be given time to prepare to come on board to work to one set of codes in terms of standards. That would be a fair way of doing things. People expect inspections to be introduced. It is the one thing everybody across the profession has done, but, again, time is required to do it.

Another reason the Dental Council of Ireland was keen to do this was we knew that when mandatory registration was introduced, bringing all dental nurses and dental technicians together would involve a large body of work. Having a large number on board in the context of voluntary registration would be helpful. Also, they have representation at the Auxiliary Dental Workers Committee such that their voices are heard in the Dental Council of Ireland. That is hugely important. Unfortunately, the registration process has halted, despite the fact that we were close to agreeing a final set-up. However, as I said, that was not by design and it is hoped the situation can be adjusted quickly.

On the reason independent-only practice is to be taken on board in registration, it is an issue of perceived risk. In other words, the risk is perceived to be relatively low for other members of the dental team. The evidence suggests that in dentistry - working in the mouth - if a person is unskilled or not obliged to attain standards, the risk of injury or life-threatening or life-altering diseases is very real. Nobody here would agree that that risk was low or non-existent. The capacity for it increases dramatically when we get into the grey area of who is doing what because, as I mentioned to Deputy Billy Kelleher, the scope of practice is out the window, the attitude being that because a person is not registered, he or she can do the work and nobody will know. With registration comes the enforcability of standards. As stated, all members of the dental team and registered dental premises should be subject to the same sanctions and fitness to practise standards. That is important.

We are aware of the high profile cases. We feel inept, angry, frustrated and annoyed with the Department about the delay in the introduction of the dental Bill which will allow us to get on with the business we want to carry out. In cases in which evidence is available we provide it for An Garda Síochána. It would be a mistake to sit around and do nothing. That would be the worst possible position for a dental council to find itself in. We regularly notify the Garda about our concerns. However, doing something about an issue is very difficult because the Garda needs to have a reason to take action. It comes back, therefore, to the ability to go into a practice and knowing what one is looking for. A garda in walking through the door of a dental practice, bar catching an individual red-handed doing what he or she should not be doing, would not because of patient confidentiality and data protection issues be able to even look up a record. New laws are required to address these issues. In terms of how we feel, we are distressed, annoyed and angry and get it in the neck from the profession. We can also get it in the neck from members of the public who contact us to tell us what has happened to them and the distress it has caused. Our inability to help is hugely frustrating. It lets down what the Dental Council of Ireland is good at. We are good at what we do; we just need the powers required to support us in what we want to do. I appreciate the Deputy's comments in terms of the need for clarity. I hope the position is clear. To us, it is very clear. We have lived with this day in and day out. In terms of our functions, we know when something is not good enough and we also know what we should be doing. In all honesty, we would like to be able to do tomorrow what we know we need to do.