Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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611. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason that the redevelopment of the dental school in University College Cork has not progressed, despite launching its redevelopment in 2019; his plans to progress this redevelopment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9760/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In 2019, my Department launched a call under the Higher Education Strategic Infrastructure Fund (HESIF) for key strategic projects to be co-funded by the Exchequer.  At that time University College Cork (UCC) prioritised an application for a new building, the Cork University Business School (CUBS) to be funded.  The CUBS application was successful and approved in principle for funding of €25m under the HESIF call.  

I have recently announced a second HESIF call for applications for major HE capital projects.  The prioritisation of projects is again a matter for each higher education institution.  It is open to UCC to submit an application for the Dental School under this programme call. 

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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612. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there are only an estimated 60 dental graduates per year; his views on whether this is sufficient to meet the demands of dental patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9761/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There is no quota placed on dental courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to the high level of practical work involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses.

My Department is strongly committed to supporting the health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce, and support a range of clinical teams in our health services. 

The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service.  

My officials are actively engaging with the Department of Health on determining the longer term skills needs of the healthcare services, and the role which the further and higher education sector can play in meeting those skills needs. I will ensure that there is continued engagement with all stakeholders to ensure that we deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.