Gareth Scahill (Fine Gael)

While I welcome the fact there will be 20 additional dentist places available, I do not believe that will meet the demand that I raised a few weeks back. Dental hygienists say that Ireland is experiencing a workforce crisis in dentistry, both in the public and private sectors. Although a call from many dentists has been heard loud and clear in the media, it is not being heard elsewhere. There is a shortage of dental hygienists. At its annual conference this year, the Irish Dental Association was inundated with requests from dentists unable to find a dental hygienist due to the shortage. That is felt throughout Ireland and we need to address it. We potentially need to look at expanding the role of dental hygienists so they have direct access and can provide more services in order to alleviate the pressure on dentists, open up the whole sector and address an issue we have.