There is no doubt Government has taken significant steps to support families, and specifically children, during the cost-of-living crisis over the past year but, following a series of questions to the HSE, it was revealed to me that approximately 100,000 children still await their initial dental appointments across all community healthcare organisations, CHOs. In my own CHO 9, which includes the youngest, fastest growing community in Ireland, approximately 5,000 children await initial assessment, plus children with medical cards. Does the Tánaiste believe the processes the HSE has set out to alleviate the significant backlog, as it has described it, as a result of Covid, will meet the targets and all children in primary school will be seen to?

The HSE says it will. I will speak to the Minister for Health again because this issue has been raised across the House again today. We have to give time to deal with the backlog from Covid but we also have to look at methodology and models of provision and have a more fundamental look at this because waiting times are too long.