Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and acknowledge the substantial increase in resources he has got for his Department for the forthcoming year. I congratulate him on his work in the Department together with his Ministers of State. One area we need to address, which I acknowledge I did not specify in my question, is patients with disabilities and complex and additional needs. I am thinking particularly of children with additional and complex needs. Oftentimes, a multidisciplinary team is needed with all relevant medical professionals for the safe delivery of dental care for such children. At times it necessitates admission to a day ward or paediatric ward in hospital and those children at times will get comprehensive dental care under general anaesthetic. We need to prioritise the delivery of services for such children. In my own area, we need a principal dental surgeon with a special needs role in particular.

I understand that the suppression of some posts over the past 12 to 14 months has impacted on the dental services. If there is a relaxation in regard to the creation of new posts, I would like to see the area of dental care prioritised if at all possible.

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