Mr. Fintan Hourihan:

The screening is carried out by the public service and the public service would have general retirement age provisions. For dentists generally, so long as they are registered to practice with the Dental Council they are entitled to see patients. There would be no reason, because of age, they could not contribute to the school screening service. The issue that arises is a bit like with that of the medical consultant who has to retire at 65. He or she might be perfectly willing to continue working but there has to be flexibility within the employment rules and policies of the HSE to allow that to happen. It is not something that has happened but it is possible and it could happen. It would require the HSE to revisit some of its employment practices. A person's entitlement practice as a dentist is not linked to their age; it is linked to whether they have a licence from the Dental Council.