Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise I have to race over to the House for questions as well. I will be as quick as possible. I thank our guests for coming before us this morning and making their presentation.

Orthodontics in particular has been an issue that I have pursued over many years, and I am sad to say that the service has not improved over the years. It did not arise in 2009, by the way. It has been there for many years. In comparison with other jurisdictions, the level and quality of service available through the schools and thereafter, with particular reference to young women, is appalling, is recognised as such, and has been commented on repeatedly in international journals. How often do our guests interact with the HSE or, previously, with the Department of Health, the health boards or whatever? Do they do so annually, as I believe they need to do, or at particular times? Do they have ongoing dialogue with the responsible officials in the HSE with a view to advancing the cause to which they have alluded? My colleague raised questions about those seeking service outside the jurisdiction, which practice, incidentally, I do not agree with. People will say, for instance, that access to dental services is less costly in Northern Ireland. I do not support moving outside of the jurisdiction. They might give us some idea.

The year 2009 was a watershed in the sense that cuts took place everywhere, and implicit in what we say from time to time is a suggestion that we should go back to 2009 levels everywhere. If we go back to 2009 everywhere, we will be broke again. That is the short and simple answer to that. I would caution everybody that if we proceed to go down that road, there will be a higher price to pay.

The dental health of women throughout their lives does not receive the kind of attention in this country that it receives in other countries. My colleague will deal with this subject in greater detail. I deal with it in my clinics. Every week, I have young women coming in who have serious fundamental dental problems for which they must wait. If they cannot afford it, they wait forever. This is not a new development. This was the modus operandi30 years ago. The health boards and the Department of Health at the time changed the categories under which a child could get treatment. There were categories A, B and C. In A, a person might be lucky if he or she got treatment in a couple of years. In B, that person almost hardly ever did. In C, he or she never did.

That situation continues to this day and has not changed. It needs to be addressed, however, and there are a number of ways in which it can be. As the professionals in the business, do our guests foresee being able to interact with the authorities, the Minister and the responsible persons in the Department of Health and the HSE with a view to bringing forward the kind of service required in modern times?

Our guests presumably make submissions annually. They need to be submitted annually. There is not much sense in making a comment at some time and then letting it go away and not happen again. I return again to the old days of the health boards. The matter arose monthly throughout the country in the course of the debate in the various health boards. There was a recognition at the highest level that the issue was causing problems downstream and that something should be done about it. Something was not always done, but at least there was a focus on the issue and it was recognised as being of some urgency.

Mr. Hourihan suggested there had been little response from the Department of Health. How often has the Irish Dental Association corresponded with the relevant authorities?

I apologise that I will be unable to remain for our guests' answers because I must attend the Chamber, but I will read them carefully and relate them to my constituents at my clinics next week. It will help us know what we might expect in the near future.