Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady was heavily critical of Taoiseach Simon Harris and the Wicklow Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly over the failure of the Wicklow Taoiseach to ensure his cabinet Ministers are up to their job, and Minister Donnelly for his continuing abject failure to resolve the long running backlog in treatment of school children waiting on access to dental appointments.
He further stated that the government needs to make public dentistry a priority as the system is in crisis and that it is the most vulnerable in society who are suffering the most.
Brady said:
“Information released to me from the HSE has revealed that the school dental programme in parts of Wicklow is running approx. 18 months behind schedule.
School children across our county are not getting the dental treatment that they need.
I am aware of many of whom have passed through primary school without access to the dental screening programme, which is necessary to secure a dental appointment.
This is absolutely unacceptable.
The government continues to exhibit zero concern at the state of public dentistry in the state.
There are currently only 18 dentists in the county in CH 06 who are signed up to the dental treatment services scheme. A wholly unsatisfactory figure that comes nowhere near meeting the demands across the county.
Time and time again I have spoken out about the abysmal state of the dental treatment services scheme, not just in the Dáil and the media, but to just about anybody who will stop to listen.
The crisis we witness here in Wicklow is being replicated across the state. But the government of Wicklow man Simon Harris appear to be deaf to the needs of school children here in Wicklow.
With 140 children across Wicklow in CHO 6 and 7 on waiting lists for surgery, this is a critical age for the dental health of children when timely intervention can make a big difference in their dental health and hygiene.
I am calling for the government to prioritise the issue of public dentistry. It is primarily the young and the most vulnerable who continue to pay the price for government inaction.
We need to hear from Minister Donnelly and his government colleagues here in Wicklow immediately as to what they are going to do about this scandal.
People have a right to dental care. It is the responsibility of the Taoiseach Simon Harris to ensure that his Ministers are up to the challenges of their roles – he needs to act to ensure that there is access to dental care for all children in the state – not least of all in own county of Wicklow.”