Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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28. To ask the Minister for Health the action his Department is taking to address the current critical shortage of dentists across the private sector and public service in Ireland, in view that at least 500 extra dentists are needed to meet the needs of a rising population and to replace retiring dentists as per this report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18473/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I have met with Minster Harris and have requested significant increases in the number of dentists we train to address dental workforce capacity issues. The Higher Education Authority is undertaking a process to identify a set of options for Government from higher education institutions interested in building capacity in Dentistry, among other areas. Aligned with Departmental policy regarding self sufficiency and to address the current imbalance of domestic ( incl. EU/ UK vs non-EU) students vs non-EU students, dental schools need to have a 75:25 ratio of domestic vs non-EU students. Superimposed on this rebalancing there needs to be an additional 10-20% on the number of college places made available to dental students in the longer term.

The HEA has requested both current dental schools to submit proposals to expand capacity and also sought proposals for new dental schools. We await the outcome of the HEA process and welcome the opportunities to expand capacity.

The Dental Council have introduced a registration process regarding refugee and temporary dentists who are currently living in Ireland and wish to practise here. The Dental Council have advised that it is doing everything it can to expedite the registration of all such dentists to enable them to contribute to our workforce.

The Dental Council have reported an increase in the numbers of dentists registering since 2016:then there were 2,949 and now there are 3,492 on the register.