Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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3197. To ask the Minister for Health the recourse available to parents whose children have not been offered or received routine dental check-ups as part of the schools programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43835/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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At present, the HSE Oral Healthcare Service aims to provide an oral examination and necessary treatment for children at up to three intervals, targeting ages approximating to second and sixth class and, in some cases, fourth class.

However, there are access issues within this service at present and the HSE has had to prioritise patient groups, to ensure emergency care remains available for all eligible HSE patients. Within the three childhood appointments, the sixth-class appointment is currently prioritised by HSE. This is to ensure that children receive preventative fissure sealants on their permanent molars and, for those children who require it, a referral for orthodontics assessment.

It is important to note that the numbers of examination appointments being provided by HSE to their target groups is increasing. In 2022 just over 99,000 such appointments were provided nationally. Last year this increased to almost 107,000 appointments provided, including almost 15,000 appointments to children on second class lists.

To support the HSE to provide care under the current model of service, additional investment of €2m was made in Budget 2025 to, among other things, enable the HSE to recruit 15 additional whole-time equivalents (WTEs) in oral healthcare. Furthermore, the HSE has sanctioned the filling of 34.7 existing WTE vacancies across dental and orthodontic services, and has advised that recruitment of these posts is underway. This additional capacity will support access to HSE dental clinics for children and special care patients.

However, ultimately children need access to prevention-focused oral healthcare from birth. This requires more than just enhanced capacity - oral healthcare services need to align with international best practice and evidence which requires changing the service we provide to children and their families across the public and private oral healthcare services. This is being addressed through implementation of the National Oral Health Policy.

Under the new model of care, which is in development by the HSE, families will be able to access free, age-appropriate oral healthcare for their children, at a dental practice of their choosing in their local community which holds a contract with the HSE. Children will be able to attend for care starting from birth and continuing regularly throughout their childhood. This will mirror how families currently access free GP care for their children.

The HSE Oral Healthcare Service will continue to play a core role in oral healthcare provision. The changes envisaged will increase the capacity of the HSE service to reorient to develop oral health promotion programmes. There will also be greater capacity to provide care to those more vulnerable groups in our community, including adults and children with additional needs, and adults living in residential settings.

An implementation plan for the first phase of policy implementation to end-2027 is being finalised and contains development of new services for children among the initial priorities.