Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. He speaks about dental regulation, the Dentists Act and developments in 2024 or 2025. These people were hit hard in 2022. They have lost €2 million. How can any of them have confidence when we see the regulatory bodies fail the very people they are paid to protect? What does the Tánaiste say to the parents and children in their hundreds who are scammed out of their hard-earned money in Oranmore, Galway, to the tune of over €2 million, leaving these children in a shocking condition to the point, as I said earlier, of a young woman's boyfriend cutting the wire out of her mouth himself with some type of clippers? Since 2022, in spite of meetings with Ministers and others, the Dental Council has washed its hands and has walked away without a care in the world for the damage, both mental and physical, done to these children. Will the Tánaiste step in here and meet with the Dental Council to hold it accountable, hold it to do what it is supposed to do for these people so something like this can never happen again and compensate these innocent people who have been scammed out of their hard-earned money?

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