Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
1510. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Health if he will set aside additional funding of €20 million for the two dental schools at UCC and TCD to increase the number of dental graduates that will practice in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14875/24]
View answerOne of the priorities of the National Oral Health Policy, Smile agus Sláinte, is to expand and maximise the oral healthcare workforce capacity in Ireland.
There are ongoing discussions around the National Development Plan (NDP) review between three departments including my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform given the significant capital costs involved in expansion. There are a range of potential projects which have been identified and can be pursued in Dentistry among other areas, which will support delivery of national objectives including Sláintecare. There are projects which would be possible to deliver at pace over the short-term period, as well as a number of other projects which could be delivered over the medium term.
At the conclusion of the NDP review, once updated department ceilings have been confirmed, successful applicants will be identified by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) based on assessment of objective criteria.
Aligned with Departmental policy regarding self-sufficiency and to address the current imbalance of domestic (including EU/UK) students vs non-EU students, dental schools need to have a 75:25 ratio of domestic vs non-EU students. Superimposed on this rebalancing there needs to be an additional 10-20% on the number of college places made available to dental students in the longer term.
According to figures obtained in 2022 out of the 50 Dentistry graduates produced from UCC 20 were domestic students while of the 40 graduates produced from TCD 25 were domestic students. The HEA had requested both dental schools at UCC and TCD to submit proposals to expand capacity.
The Department of Health is fully supportive of the opportunities to expand capacity in both UCC and TCD and would be in favour of any proposal to increase the number of dental graduates that will practice in Ireland.
