Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to ask about amendment No. 3 where it states: "has a qualification in dentistry from a state other than the State and has passed an examination specified in rules made for the purposes of this paragraph". In medicine, concerns have been consistently raised with me suggesting that the examination bar the State has set for doctors is not adequate and that in some cases we are taking in doctors who, maybe through no fault of their own, simply are not trained to the level that our doctors are required to be trained to. I have no idea if that is the case in dentistry. This amendment goes to the heart of the check, so if we are taking in dentists from other states, my understanding is that if they are from within the EU their qualifications are simply recognised.

Are checks done on dentists from other EU member states or do we simply accept that they are fully qualified? In the case of non-EU dentists, or EU dentists in the event that we do not automatically recognise their qualifications, what safeguards are in place to ensure the bar is adequately set and dentists from other states are subject to the same level of rigour and training that we demand of Irish-trained dentists?