Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The HSE public dental service provides care for children up to 16 years of age. It includes emergency care, a fissure sealant programme and care for orthodontics. There have, as the Deputy correctly said, been significant delays in the provision of these services. These were significant before Covid-19 arrived and, as with many other patient services, Covid has made them worse. It is not acceptable that children and their families are facing these long waiting periods for access to oral healthcare. It is a top priority for me and the Government to address it. Critically, we are backing that sentiment up with money, which is what matters. I have allocated an unprecedented €15 million in the budget for next year to enhance the provision of oral health services. A dedicated amount of nearly €5 million has been provided to develop a comprehensive oral healthcare package for children. This will make a huge difference. This is an intervention package for children from birth up to seven years of age and is aligned with the national oral health policy.

We will see the benefits of these packages in the years to come. On top of that, I have allocated €9 million specifically to address the waiting lists in orthodontics, which the Deputy has quite rightly called out, and to allow the public dental service to provide care to all eligible children. In addition to the €15 million allocation, resources will also be available to recruit more orthodontists. There has been a specific request for orthodontists to provide clinical leadership within the HSE to drive this oral health strategy, Smile agus Sláinte. These staff will allow for the very substantial reform that is required right across the system.

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