asked the Minister for Health whether his attention has been drawn to a statement made on 9th March by the chairman of the Public Dental Officers' Group of the Irish Dental Association, during the course of which the chairman drew attention to the complete impossibility of running an adequate dental service for children and adults with the number of dentists at present employed by the health authorities; and whether he will take immediate steps to ensure the overall improvement of the public dental services, both by the employment of a greater number of dentists, and by careful and rational planning to the best advantage of the use of the services of dentists already employed.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Public Dental Services.
3.
My attention has been drawn to a newspaper report of a statement made by the chairman of the Public Dental Officers' Group of the Irish Dental Association at the annual general meeting of this group held on 9th March, 1963.
While it is true that there is a shortage of dentists here, we are not unique in this respect. The same position exists in most countries, even in such countries as Sweden, USA and Great Britain, where facilities for dental treatment are regarded as most developed.
Up to comparatively recently it was difficult to recruit dentists to the whole-time service of our health authorities, but the position in this regard shows signs of easing. A further limiting factor is the financial one and this, in the context of the general financial situation, is a substantial one since improvement of the services involves an additional charge on rate-payers, and taxpayers. Thus, even if the additional personnel were readily available, the cost of substantially increasing the number of dentists employed by health authorities so as to bring about a significant overall improvement in the dental services has to be considered in conjunction with the cost of the health services as a whole and the demands on public funds for other services.
Despite this financial limitation, I have urged the appointment of senior dental surgeons in a number of health authority areas so as to improve the organisation and co-ordination of the dental services in the areas in which they are employed.