Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
644. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will outline his progress on the roll-out of graduate entry dentistry across selected Irish universities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45351/23]
View answerMy Department is strongly committed to supporting the health of the population through the provision of graduates with the key competencies and skills to be effective in the health workforce, and support a range of clinical teams in our health services.
There is no quota placed on dental courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered and the modality through which they are offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to the high level of practical work involved there can be material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses.
Graduate entry programmes are a pathway for degree holders who want to pursue a career, typically on an accelerated programme.
For all regulated professions, the higher education institutions work with the relevant professional regulators to ensure their programmes meet relevant standards for professional accreditation.
The Free Fees Initiative pays the tuition fees of eligible students undertaking their first full time undergraduate programme. The Free Fees Initiative does not meet fees in respect of students who are completing a second undergraduate degree, which by its nature any Graduate Entry programme is.
The Higher Education Authority recently undertook an Expressions of Interest process to identify options for developing substantial medium term additional capacity in a range of priority healthcare disciplines including Dentistry. In June the Minister for Health and I announced details of the potential options identified under this process. I continue to engage closely on this matter with Government colleagues to advance the process with investment to be considered in the context of an expected upcoming review of Departmental National Development Plan allocations.
In this context, my officials are actively engaging with the Department of Health on determining the longer term skills needs of the healthcare services, and the role which the further and higher education sector can play in meeting those skills needs.
I understand that the Department of Health is commencing work on a workforce scoping project - skills assessment across the oral healthcare sector.
