asked the Minister for Education if he will give the House a guarantee on the long term future of the dental school/hospital in Cork, in view of the recent announcement of the proposal to build a new dental school in Dublin for the training of 50 dentists per year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cork Dental School/Hospital.
7.
The Government decision to proceed with the building of a new dental school and hospital in Dublin has no implications for the long term future of the Cork Dental School and Hospital arising as it does from the Government decision of December 1974 that there should be two dental schools in the State, one in Dublin and one in Cork.
Would the Minister agree that there is some uncertainty about the future of the Cork school based on the fact that the Country's needs in terms of dentists is 50 per year according to a health survey and that as a result of the construction of the new school we will be producing 90 dentists per year? That must bring into question the future of the Cork school.
The output from both schools will not be 90. It does not follow that because the totally inadequate facilities in Dublin are to be modernised there will be any danger to the future of the Cork School. I would refer again to what I said in the reply:
The Government decision to proceed with the building of a new dental school and hospital in Dublin has no implications for the long term future of the Cork Dental School...
Would the Minister agree that there seems to be some breakdown in communications between his Department and the Department of Health, the latter stating that the needs of the country in terms of dentists is 50 per year? Though we would admit the need for a new dental school in Dublin, would the Minister agree that a school on the scale of Cork, turning out 40 dentists per year, should be sufficient for the needs of the country?
My information is that the Cork school is purpose built to provide 25 graduates per year and that this number would not be sufficient to meet the needs of the country. What the needs of the country are in this respect is a matter for the Department of Health but I understand, too, that in the new Dublin school there can be a balance between training dentists and training dental hygienists. It does not follow that all graduates from this school will be dentists as such.
Is it not odd that we are now training dental hygienists though their position has not been regularised or legislated for? Would the Minister investigate the position whereby Cork with a clinical student number of 103 as against 115 in Dublin are existing on a capital grant of less than £1 million per year while it is costing £2.25 million per year to run the Dublin school?
In reply to that I can only compliment the Cork school authority on running their business so efficiently and economically.
May we have any guarantee about the future of the Cork school?
We must move on to the next question.