Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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895. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there are still the same number of dental students as 25 years ago; the reason most of these are from overseas; to provide details on how many dental students are registered per year, for the past 25 years, including nationality, in tabular form. [27577/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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My officials are working closely with the Department of Health to expand the healthcare workforce capacity of the country, and to create more opportunities for students who wish to pursue these professions, including in dentistry and oral healthcare.

A list of all first year enrolments, by nationality, is in the attached document provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The earliest academic year for which data is available is 2007/2008. Please note that these figures refer to all year one enrolments for these years. In line with the HEA's statistical dissemination policy, all figures are rounded to the nearest five.

My Department does not place a quota on dental courses, and therefore the number of places offered is a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However, I do acknowledge that due to a high level of practical work there can be material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses.

The provision of healthcare programmes is complex and involves many different parts of the system.?It is important that any increases in places are done in a sustainable way with an evidence based understanding of the future needs of the health system.

In 2023, the HEA carried out a targeted capacity expansion exercise across priority healthcare areas. One key outcome was the establishment of new healthcare programmes, including a new Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), commencing in 2025. This programme will provide at least 20 new dentistry places per annum for Irish/EEA students from 2025 onwards.

It is worth emphasising that my Department is not in a position to specify the workforce planning demand requirements for any discipline – this must come from the relevant line Department.

It is my understanding that the Department of Health is undertaking a scoping project and skills assessment across the oral healthcare sector. I am also informed that the Dental Council has submitted revised scopes of practice to the Department of Health. If approved, this will require updates to training curricula and potential increases in training places across dentistry and other oral health disciplines.

I am committed to working with all relevant stakeholders to ensure that any future expansion of dental education is grounded in evidence, responds to national needs, and is delivered in a sustainable manner.