Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Department of further and higher education is working closely with the Department of Health to expand the healthcare workforce capacity of the country, including oral healthcare. The Department does not place a quota on the number of places on dental courses, and the number of places offered is therefore a matter for the higher education institutions in line with their autonomy. I acknowledge, however, that due to the high level of practical work, there can be material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses. The Department works collaboratively with all higher education institutions on the development of capital projects in line with their established master plans. As an autonomous body, it is a matter for UCC to prioritise its capital projects, and in recent competitive funding rounds for capital funding by the State other priorities have been put forward ahead of the dental school by the university.

My understanding is that UCC has taken a decision to invest €15 million to refurbish the existing building to address the physical infrastructure deficits in the existing dental school and hospital. The HEA must also run an exercise to identify options for the creation of additional capacity in a range of priority healthcare disciplines including dentistry. A number of dental options, including an expansion to provision in UCC were identified. These options are reliant on additional capital investment. The Department is continuing to engage with Government colleagues to advance this process.

See this speech in context