Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If we put €10 million more into the scheme on top of the €10 million that is going into it this year, thereby increasing the funding for it by 50%, we will still wind up with no scheme because of how it is constructed. I am asking direct questions. What is the budget for the dental scheme in CHO 8 this year? How much of that would relate - in terms of population proportion - to Laois and Offaly, separately? Who is supposed to be providing this? Trying to get to the bottom of this is a problem. Are private dentists supposed to be providing it? Are there public dentists and how many of them are there? In answer to another parliamentary question, I was told that there are three dentists operating the DTSS in Laois. There is actually only one, and that practice is not taking customers or patients because they come to my office, and I am sure to other Deputies' offices, asking how they can get into the scheme. Nobody is providing the services under that scheme at the moment. The number is zero. The DTSS has collapsed. There are zero dentists. People cannot get into it. As regards the school dental scheme, I told Mr. Watt before that I saw a dentist in third class in primary school. He probably did too. He was in a better area maybe, so he might have seen one in second class.