Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 13, after line 42, to insert the following:

“PART 5

AMENDMENT OF DENTISTS ACT 1985

Definition (Part 5)

16.In this Part, “Act of 1985” means the Dentists Act 1985.

Amendment of Act of 1985

17.The Act of 1985 is amended by the insertion of the following Part after Part IV:

“PART IVA

MAINTENANCE OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE

Duty of registered dentists and registered dental auxiliary workers to maintain professional competence

38A.(1) A registered dentist and a registered dental auxiliary worker shall maintain professional competence on an ongoing basis.

(2) A registered dentist and dental auxiliary worker shall, whenever required by the Dental Council to do so, demonstrate competence to the satisfaction of the Dental Council in accordance with any requirement of the Dental Council under section 2(1).

(3) A registered dentist and a registered dental auxiliary worker co-operate with any requirements imposed on the registered dentist or the registered dental auxiliary worker by the rules

(4) The Dental Council may, by notice in writing given to a registered dentist or a registered dental auxiliary worker, who has given an undertaking, require the registered dentist or the registered dental auxiliary worker to co-operate with such an undertaking to the satisfaction of the Dental Council.

(5) A dentist or auxiliary dental worker shall comply with a notice under subsection (4) given to him or her.

Duty of registered dentists and registered dental auxiliary workers to demonstrate professional competence to the satisfaction of the Dental Council

38B.(1) The Dental Council may require a registered dentist or a registered dental auxiliary to demonstrate competence to the satisfaction of the Dental Council in accordance with a professional competence scheme applicable to that dentist or dental auxiliary worker or otherwise.

(2) The Dental Council may require a registered dentist or a registered dental auxiliary worker who fails to demonstrate competence to the satisfaction of the Dental Council to attend a course or courses of further education or training or to do anything which, in the opinion of the Dental Council, is necessary to satisfy the Dental Council as to the competence of that dentist or dental auxiliary worker.

(3) Where the Dental Council considers that a registered dentist or a registered dental auxiliary worker—

(a) who, being required under section 1(3) to co-operate with any requirements imposed on that dentist or auxiliary worker by the rules, has refused to so co-operate, has failed to so co-operate or has ceased to so co-operate,

(b) has contravened section 1(5),

(c) may pose an immediate risk of harm to the public, or

(d) may have committed a serious breach of its guidance on ethical standards and behaviour, then the Dental Council shall forthwith make a complaint to the Fitness to Practice Committee.

Duty of the Dental Council in relation to maintenance of professional competence of registered dentists and registered dental auxiliary workers

38C. (1) The Dental Council shall, not later than the first anniversary of the commencement of this section, or such longer period as the Minister for Health permits in writing at the request of the Dental Council, develop, establish and operate one or more than one scheme for the purposes of monitoring the maintenance of professional competence by registered dentists and registered dental auxiliary workers.

(2) A scheme under this section shall not be established or operated until a proposal for it has been approved by the Minister for Health and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.

(3) The Dental Council, in respect of a professional competence scheme—

(a) shall review the operation of the scheme periodically, and

(b) may, following such a review, make recommendations to the Minister for Health as to the steps that, in the opinion of the Dental Council, may need to be taken to improve the operation of the scheme.

Duty of employers in relation to maintenance of professional competence of registered dentists and registered dental auxiliary workers

38D. (1) An employer of a registered dentist or registered dental auxiliary worker shall facilitate the maintenance by that dentist or dental auxiliary worker of his or her professional competence pursuant to a professional competence scheme applicable to the dentist or dental auxiliary worker concerned.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the employer may facilitate the maintenance of professional competence by a registered dentist or registered dental auxiliary worker it employs by providing learning opportunities for that dentist or dental auxiliary worker in the workplace.

Confidentiality

38E. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), and to any agreement made, a person who acquires any information by virtue of the person’s performance or assistance in the performance of functions under this Act relating to any professional competence scheme shall preserve confidentiality with regard to the information and, without prejudice to the foregoing, shall not—

(a) disclose the information to another person except where the disclosure is necessary for such performance or assistance, or

(b) cause or permit any other person to have access to the information except where the access is necessary for that other person to perform or assist in the performance of functions under this Act (including the functions of the Fitness to Practise Committee).

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Dental Council may disclose information—

(a) in the form of a summary compiled from information provided in relation to registered dentists and registered dental auxiliary workers participating in a professional competence scheme if the summary is so compiled as to prevent particulars relating to the identity of any such dentist or dental auxiliary worker being ascertained from it,

(b) with a view to the institution of, or otherwise for the purposes of, any criminal proceedings or any investigation in the State, or

(c) in connection with any civil proceedings to which the Dental Council is a party.

(3) The Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003 shall not apply to a record (within the meaning of those Acts) relating to any professional competence scheme.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting a disclosure of information pursuant to a court order.

(5) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months, or both.”.”.

I welcome the Minister to the House. This amendment concerns regulation, although not regulation that would specifically come under CORU. It is in relation to the need for the regulation of standards and continuing professional development for the dental profession. Currently, there is no legislative requirement for continuing professional development, only an ethical one. The Irish Dental Association has identified this as a gap in the legislation which, in its view, poses a significant risk to public safety.

This amendment was previously moved, as the Minister will know, by Deputy Shortall and it was rejected by the Dáil. Specifically, at that point, the Minister cited the urgent need to bring UK-based medical graduates into the HSE in July. He noted that the inclusion of this amendment would result in significant delay. The primary issues cited were technical, including compatibility with the current Dentists Act, which would need to be ironed out through the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Chief State Solicitor and fitness to practise. This would mean that the amendment would have to be redrafted and would have to come back before the Dáil and the Seanad. The Minister said he believed this would not be possible by July.

The amendment, as I said, concerns regulation. It relates to the need for the regulation of standards and continuing professional development. While it is not specifically within the ambit of CORU, I note the Minister previously submitted amendments to this legislation relating to the medical profession. This amendment is based on recommendations from the Irish Dental Association which wants to reform legislation that governs the practice of dentistry. It is troubling that a representative body is lobbying us, as legislators, to say the standards can and should be improved.

Going back as far as October 2021, the Irish Dental Association engaged with the Department. At that time, it identified a number of gaps in the Dentists Act 1985 which, in its view, posed significant risk to public safety. This included the legislative failure to require dentists and dental auxiliary workers to maintain their ongoing competence through continuing professional development. The failure to effectively legislate for this means dentists are very much out of step with other healthcare professionals, specifically doctors and nurses. This amendment is about raising standards and ensuring greater protection for patients. It is about addressing issues that have been raised by those in the profession.