Nolan says Offaly primary school children “will be in transition year before accessing dental care”

INDEPENDENT TD Carol Nolan has said the Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll-MacNeill must intervene with the HSE to ensure that there is increased sense of urgency around the recruitment of dental surgeons in Offaly who will provide services to primary school children.

Deputy Nolan raised the matter in the Dáil with the minister after she was contacted by parents in the constituency who are growing increasingly concerned about the level of delays within the school dental screening service.

A number of parents have indicated that they have children who should have been seen in sixth class but who are still waiting for an appointment even though they are now in transition year.

Minister MacNeill responded by thanking Deputy Nolan for highlighting this important issue, before going on to admit that the state is struggling to source sufficient numbers of dentists, both on the public side and, more broadly, to meet level of demand for developmental checks.

“I have been highlighting the chronic levels of service deficits in Offaly for a number of years and I have repeatedly brought solutions to ministers asking them to take action,” said Deputy Nolan.

“I accept what the minister is saying in terms of the number of new dental training programmes, especially the specific training programme with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland at Connolly Hospital, but the fact remains that the root of this problem lies in the failure of Governments to agree upon and roll out a new Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) to replace the existing scheme which is simply not fit for purpose.

“We know for example that in 2014 there was 1,600 dentists offering treatment to medical card holders and school children. Fast forward to last year and that number is down to 810 dentists listed as participating in the scheme, with just 600 of those active.”

“I have worked closely with the Irish Dental Association on this matter, and the clear sense now is that there appears to be no real political appetite to reform the DTSS contract despite all of the talk that goes on about it. Under the current DTS scheme, dentists get around 50pc to 60pc of what they would receive from a private fee. No dental surgery can operate on those margins for long and that is why we are seeing an exodus from the service which is actively harming children and adults alike,” concluded Deputy Nolan.