Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will revert to the Deputy with a timeframe. I do not have one now but I will revert to him with a timeframe in that regard. We are looking at bringing in mandatory continuous professional development but we do need further engagement with the Dental Council of Ireland and with dentists, and further general consultation. That is the reason I cannot support the amendment, although I support the intention behind it.

Deputies raised a few other issues in respect of oral health and engagement with dentists. For reasons I do not fully understand, the State has had a blind spot when it comes to oral health and engagement with the Irish Dental Association. I am not quite sure why that is the case but that is my observation. We have been working to turn that around. Deputies will be aware, and Deputy Cullinane referenced, that I have allocated a significant increase in funding for oral health in recent budgets. We need to go further. Deputies will be aware that I increased the fees for the dental treatment scheme by 40% to 60%. The scheme is not working the way it needs to, but that is not an insignificant increase. We did that in just one budget. We are looking to double college places for dentistry. We do not have enough dentists so the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris and I are looking at doubling the available places. We are launching a new school programme for those aged zero to seven years, which is a preventative measure. It will take time to scale up but I think it is going to be useful when it does.

The national policy is Smile agus Sláinte but, in short, it has not had the money required to roll out these things. The chief dentist made a strong case to me in advance of last year's budget that we needed clinical leadership in the HSE, which has not been there for oral health in the past. We are now in the middle of hiring a senior clinical team within the HSE to put in place the kinds of supports that, quite frankly, I do not think are in place right now and that need to be in place.

The engagement with the Irish Dental Association has not been good. I made a point of meeting its representatives recently and it was a constructive meeting. I will be speaking at the association's conference in Kilkenny on Friday. The relationship needs to be better and, as I say, there has historically been a blind spot for a reason I do not fully understand and I am absolutely determined that we move to a better place, both in terms of the relationship but, more importantly, in terms of the provision of oral healthcare to people around the country.

I ask Deputies for their support in a request I have of the dentists and of the Irish Dental Association. I have said this directly to the dentists. I recognise, as we all do, that the dental scheme is not working. It is not fit for purpose for various reasons. I am committed to changing that. I have met dentists and work has commenced in that regard. I have also said to them that in the meantime I have a request that the members of the Irish Dental Association re-engage. We have people-----

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