Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I am here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly to reply to this Commencement matter. I thank Senator Carrigy for the opportunity to address the issue of specialised dentistry within the public service. The salaried HSE public dental service providers offer care to several groups of patients including those with complex and additional needs. In addition, public dental service provides a programme which includes screening and necessary treatment for children at ages corresponding to second class, sixth class and subject to capacity, fourth class. Emergency care is also provided to children up to 16 years of age and for those with complex and additional needs.

This service provides care to many children and adults who would otherwise not have access to oral health care services. Officials in the Department of Health engage with the HSE on an ongoing basis to understand and address any challenges arising in the provision of public dental services. The Minister has been assured by the HSE that it is continuing to restore dental screening and treatment to children up to 16 years of age, through recruitment initiatives to fill vacancies that have arisen or may arise, prioritising clinical treatment and patient groups and reallocating clinical resources according to greatest need. The HSE has advised that many general dental surgeons would see patients with special needs routinely.

Regarding capacity and recruitment, it is extremely heartening to note that we currently have more registered dentists in Ireland than ever before. We have 3,652 at present which is an additional 189 registered dentists since March 2023. This reflects positive trends with comparative figures being 3,217 in 2018. The HSE has confirmed that in February 2024 there were 821 whole-time equivalents working in the public dental service across all grades, including 302 dentists, wholetime equivalent. Of the 302 these include consultant and specialist orthodontists. It should be noted that there are only two specialists recognised across EU orthodontics and oral surgery. In Ireland oral surgery and orthodontics have specialist registers in place.Ireland aligns with the EU dental postgraduate education models, which lean on QQI levels to determine the standard of education in dentistry. More than one third of the dental workforce in Ireland comprises dentists who have qualified outside of Ireland but within the EU. These dentists will continue to contribute to our workforce due to the oversupply of dentists in other EU countries but, in the main, few have specialist training outside of orthodontics or oral surgery.

The national policy prioritises the development of robust primary care, which caters for 90% of oral healthcare. This is aligned with both the EU model of care and the World Health Organization workforce model. The policy outlines, however, that the care pathways for the advanced centres of care and complex care will inform us of the need for additional training, specialisation or both in specific areas of dentistry.

Concerted efforts are ongoing within the HSE to address any current vacancies and any resourcing challenges that may be experienced by the dental and oral health professions. These are important measures to ensure the adequate staffing of our services for patients today. In tandem, we are also investing in fundamental reform of our healthcare services through implementation of the national oral health policy. The policy provides a framework and a set of action areas, including strategic workforce planning, to comprehensively reform oral healthcare service design and delivery.