Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There are dentists employed directly by the State in community health centres across the country. I brought my child to one quite recently. It is an interesting proposal. Should we look at substantially increasing that with more directly employed dentists? It is certainly something I would not rule out and it could be examined. In the meantime, however, the vast majority of care is provided by contracted dentists.

I am not sure I would characterise it as a sticking plaster. If we are moving from a €40 million investment to a €66 million investment in one year, that is more than a sticking plaster. It is a very significant interim measure. The reality is that the scheme we have was designed in the 1990s. It is not fit for purpose and has to be examined. The cost of care has to be examined as well as part of that.

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