Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of my question was to examine the details. I accept that there has been an increase in staff in key areas, as the Minister mentioned. In this regard, the recruitment to An Garda Síochána is welcome. Some of the additional teaching staff will replace teachers who are leaving. Maintaining teacher numbers is primarily designed to reflect the growth in the population, but the pupil-teacher ratio in schools is not being reduced. I am concerned about services in County Laois about which I have heard in the past year, in particular orthodontics. Every child is meant to be checked by a dentist before leaving primary school and receive treatment, but this is not happening owing to a lack of staff. This is but one example; I will also mention speech and language therapy. This is partially due to the recruitment embargo.

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