Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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245. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of newly qualified dentists who qualified in Ireland, the number who were Irish/EU students and those who were non-EEA students but who qualified in Ireland, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34761/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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246. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has engaged with all third level institutions with a view to increasing the total number of places available for the training of both dental nurses and dental hygienists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34764/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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247. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department can make additional funding available to third level colleges which are providing dental training courses in order that they may increase the total number of places available for Irish students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34765/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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248. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide details of the total number of Irish/EU students and the total number of non-EEA students who have qualified from University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin for each of the years ending 31 December 2020 to 31 December 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34766/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 245, 246, 247 and 248 together.

My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the Department of Health to expand training places in areas of acute skills shortage, including oral healthcare and dentistry.

The Department of Health is undertaking a scoping project and skills assessment across the oral healthcare sector. This will help inform planning for future workforce needs, including dental hygienists and dental nurses.

The Dental Council has submitted revised scopes of practice to the Department of Health, proposing an expanded role for dental hygienists. If approved, this will require updates to training curricula and potential increases in training places.

The Department of Health is also exploring the establishment of a new mid-level oral health professional grade, which may further affect demand for dental hygiene training.

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) ran an expression of interest process in October 2022 to identify options for the creation of additional capacity in a range of priority healthcare disciplines including Dentistry. As a result of this process, a new Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI), will commence in September 2025, training students in a community-based model of dental education, significantly increasing the number of dentistry training places available nationally and expanding access to dental services. This programme will provide at least 20 new dentistry places per annum for Irish/EEA students, supporting a significant increase in current provision.

My Department, the HEA and the Department of Health are engaging with UCC regarding their Dentistry provision. An announcement on their work is expected in the coming weeks.

The number of Dentistry graduates requested by the Deputy, sourced from the HEA student records system, is detailed in the attached spreadsheet.