Cecilia Keaveney
Question:96 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Health the current number of school dentists in County Donegal. [18201/96]
Written Answers. - School Dentists.
Cecilia Keaveney
Question:97 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Health the current number of school dentists in Inishowen, County Donegal. [18202/96]
Cecilia Keaveney
Question:98 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Health the number of school dentists in County Donegal in 1990. [18203/96]
Cecilia Keaveney
Question:99 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Health the number of children a school dentists would have in his/her care in counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. [18204/96]
Limerick East): I propose to take Questions Nos. 96, 97, 98 and 99 together. The provision of dental services to national school children in counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo is the statutory responsibility of the North-Western Health Board. I have been advised by the board that, of the total approved complement of one principal dental surgeon and 15 dental posts in County Donegal, there are currently one principal dental surgeon and 11 dental surgeons — whole-time equivalents — employed by the board in the provision of dental services in the county. The number of dentists currently employed in Inishowen is the equivalent of 0.6 full-time posts. Two of the current vacanies are for dentists for the Inishowen area.
The board is having great difficulty in recruiting professional dental staff for County Donegal, particularly for the Inishowen area. These posts have been advertised nationally numerous times. The board has advised me that every effort is being made to rectify the situation. The average number of school-children a dentist has currently in his/her care in County Donegal is 3,500. This compares with an average of 1,838 children per dentist in Sligo/Leitrim. In 1990 there was one principal dental surgeon and the equivalent of 10.66 whole-time dental surgeon posts employed in County Donegal. The introduction of the Dental Treatment Services Scheme under which treatment services to adults are provided by private dental practitioners under contract to the health board has enabled the health board dental services to focus more on provision of services to children.