asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Galway will be called for orthodontic treatment.

The Western Health Board is calling children for orthodontic assessment and treatment, if necessary, as resources permit. However, there is a considerable backlog at present and it is unlikely that the person mentioned will be given an appointment in the near future. Efforts to fill the post of consultant orthodontist for the Western Health Board have proved fruitless but the conditions attached to the post are under examination at present in an effort to fill this post and the posts vacant in other health boards. If the post in the Western Health Board were filled there would be a marked improvement in orthodontic services in that area.