Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Could the Minister come back to me regarding the waiting list initiative? We have submitted multiple parliamentary questions on this. This was one of the solutions. There had been a huge number of vacancies. It is positive that attempts are being made to fill these positions but we need to make sure it happens as soon as possible. I saw movement on those who were seen as grade 4 patients and who needed that orthodontic dental work done, but my fear is that those who fall into the grade 5 bracket have a greater medical need and the longer they are left, the greater the issues there may be. I accept the Minister might not have the answer in front of her, but I would appreciate it if she could come back to me with the specifics of this initiative to deal with the waiting lists. We need to make sure there is no hold up and slow down in filling these vacancies related to orthodontic services because the impact this could have could be serious.

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