Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley. The matter concerns the need for the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, to intervene with the western health executive to appoint a school dentist in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe, where there are 24 national schools in the area without a dental service for the past three months. That is a reasonable request.

A quick look at the history of the dental service in the schools in east Galway will clarify the urgent need and the poor service provided to the schoolgoing children in the area. On 20 January 2006 the dentist in that area resigned, having been appointed on 28 April 2005. By coincidence I raised on the Adjournment that he be appointed at that time. He was appointed to provide a two-day per week service to the 24 national schools. Approximately 1,500 students in the catchment area were served by that dentist. Since 20 January 2006 an emergency service operates three days per month. It responds only in the case of an emergency, that is, when somebody is in exceptional pain.

In the last days of December 2005 the dental practitioner for County Galway also resigned. Neither of those posts have been advertised in the meantime. It is time the Minister of State and the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children intervened in order that children in the area be provided with a proper dental service. It is unbelievable that such primary care is not provided at an early stage for children. There have been many campaigns and much money has been spent on promoting dental care, particularly among the young. Given the response of the Health Service Executive it is appropriate that the Minister of State and the Tánaiste intervene to ensure a proper service is provided for children in the 24 national schools in east Galway, from Ballinasloe to Portumna.

Given that the Health Service Executive cannot hold on to these appointments something must be wrong. In the past we were told we could not get orthodontists in the west. The position now is that we cannot retain dental practitioners. Hence the region has had a stop-go service for the past six years. It has had a dental service for a short period which, until recently, only operated two days per week. That is not good enough. The backlog means that many children have serious dental problems and nothing is being done for them. I look forward to a positive response.