Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I will highlight one of the sentences in her reply:

I have been assured by the HSE that the local services on the ground will assist any persons who are still experiencing problems in accessing a service.

I refer the Minister of State back to the direct experience of the woman to whom I spoke. She said she contacted the HSE about the dentist and the medical card issue and was told there was only one dentist in Balbriggan. That was the extent of the service. The Minister of State said the HSE assured her that "local services on the ground will assist", but they directed this woman to a dentist only for her to find, notwithstanding the difficulties in getting there, and she was going to go, that the dentist is not taking on any new patients. That was the extent of the help. Is it possible that in each of our local areas we might have a telephone number or nominated person? I do not want someone's name; I am just talking about a telephone number. We do not want to be torturing someone; I get that. That could be co-ordinated. If the Minister of State is correct when she says that more dentists are going to come on stream - I have no reason to dispute it - that information needs to be in the HSE. There needs to be a person whom people like Mary can contact directly. The HSE assured the Minister of State that local people are helping. I mean no disrespect to the people in the HSE who are working hard when I say they are not helping. It is no help to Mary be told to go to a dentist in Balbriggan, which will be tough for her to get to - that is grand; she will do that - when that dentist is not taking on any patients. The difficulty is when a person makes all the telephone calls. I spoke to someone who rang 29 dentists in one day and was told "No" every single time. This person was waiting and thinking that the dentist she previously attended was going to reopen. She rang continuously and then eventually snapped, as one would do. She made all of those telephone calls in one day and got a "No" every single time. Where can I direct people in my constituency to get the help that the HSE assured the Minister of State they will be given?

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