Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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909. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 787 of 14 May 2026, to provide an update on the dentistry enrolment table referenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [68440/26]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government commits to expanding healthcare education and training places, aligned with national workforce planning, to address staffing shortages across the health and social care system. Dentistry is a key component of this approach.

Further to Parliamentary Question No. 787 of 14 May 2026, the updated Year 1 dentistry enrolment data available to my Department is set out below. The figures include both undergraduate new entrants and continuing students in Year 1 where applicable. As noted in the table, the "new entrant" designation applies only to undergraduate entry routes.

In addition to existing provision, the Government has approved significant expansion in healthcare education capacity. Under the healthcare education expansion measures announced in 2026, additional dentistry places have been approved at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). These places form part of a wider package of healthcare education expansion across medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and allied health programmes, which is being delivered in collaboration with the Higher Education Authority and the Department of Health to support the long-term workforce needs of the health service.

My Department will continue to work closely with the Higher Education Authority, the Department of Health and higher education institutions to increase capacity in priority healthcare disciplines, including dentistry, in line with identified workforce requirements.