John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1003. To ask the Minister for Health the number of public dentists working within the school dental scheme in Offaly, in each of the years 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 to date, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39691/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1004. To ask the Minister for Health the average age of a child and their school class when they receive their first dental examination and screening through the school dental scheme in Offaly; how this compares to the national average age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39692/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1005. To ask the Minister for Health the number of public dentists that are available to service the area of (details supplied); the number of hours/days they work from that area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39693/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1006. To ask the Minister for Health her plans to increase the number of public dentists serving Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39694/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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There are currently 241 WTE dentists in the HSE's Oral Healthcare Service, across the various grades of dentist. Specifically, in the HSE Dublin and Midlands region which includes Offaly there are currently 46 WTE dentists across the various dental grades.

Funding was allocated in Budget 2025 to support the recruitment of 15 additional oral healthcare Whole Time Equivalents (WTE) in the HSE. This investment is going to provide an additional 15 HSE dental staff across dentists and dental nurses to deliver oral healthcare in the community, including the primary school oral health examination programme for children. Further, the HSE has sanctioned filling 34.7 existing WTE vacancies in the Oral Healthcare Service and have advised that the recruitment process has commenced.

My Department is supportive of recruitment of the 49.7 WTE identified through these two processes, which will improve the staffing levels currently available to provide service including the former Community Health Organisation (CHO) 8 which includes Offaly. Through this, the HSE intends to hire 4 dentists to fill vacancies and deliver oral health services in this region.

There are now more dentists than ever registered in Ireland - with 3,888 dentists on the Dental Council register as of July 2025. This reflects ongoing upward trends regarding registered dentists in the State, and compares favourably with the numbers in April 2019, when Smile agus Sláinte was published – 3,100, an increase of over 25%.

My Department is committed to ensuring that our healthcare system is supported by a steady and sustainable pipeline of highly skilled graduates — including in critical areas such as oral healthcare and dentistry. Ensuring adequate capacity to train future dentists is part of our broader commitment to workforce planning that supports the health and well-being of our population.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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1007. To ask the Minister for Health the number of children that are awaiting an appointment with a public health dentist at each Health Service Executive dental clinic in Offaly; the duration of these wait times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39695/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly.