Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Hourihan mentioned his interaction, or the lack thereof, with the Department since November . I wish to discuss that issue from a little further back. The backdrop to much of what the committee has been discussing relates to progressing Sláintecare. Smile agus Sláinte was published in early 2019 and Mr. Hourihan was quite critical of the document at that time. I would like to hear, from whoever wants to make a contribution, where that document is and whether they have heard about it being progressed in any way. In the document, a number of items were outlined as possible areas on which to make progress. One of them was orthodontic provision, which I think we can all agree is of particular concern at the moment. It was suggested that orthodontic patient treatment could be delivered in primary care to a certain level. Has there been any progress on that? What training would be required for a primary care dentist in an average practice to enable him or her to provide the first steps of orthodontic care? Would that be a way of reducing waiting lists?

There was a suggestion that auxiliary staff, that is, technicians and nurses, could be utilised and could broaden their remit. We see that in primary care where, for example, nurses are becoming more fully trained in certain areas to take some of the burden off particular professionals. I am interested to hear our guests' thoughts on those matters and their reactions in respect of any progress that has been made or is possible regarding the Smile agus Sláinte documents.