I raise again with the Taoiseach the three public dental schemes. He will recall me raising them with him on Leaders' Questions last year. The three schemes - the dental treatment services scheme, the dental treatment benefit scheme and the school dental scheme - are in chaos and are not functioning. The situation with the school dental scheme in County Laois, for example, is worse now than it was last year when I raised it with the Taoiseach. It is like the Dark Ages. Current figures from the HSE show that there are 6,618 children on the school dental scheme waiting list for a first examination. That is an increase of 175 since I raised the issue last year. Of that number, 818 are seven years overdue an examination. Some are not getting their first examination until they are in fifth year in secondary school. There is huge harm done in the meantime, with serious tooth decay and other problems arising. Those 818 children should be seen in fourth class. The HSE is now changing its tune and marking them for examination from sixth year, but it accepts they should be seen in third or fourth class. Those 818 pupils are seven full years overdue for examination. A total of 1,504 children are six years overdue for examination and 1,520 are five years overdue. They are adults before they are seen for their first examination, which should happen in fourth class. The Government is failing the children of Laois. It is failing those in other counties as well but Laois is a particular black spot.

The dental treatment services scheme is for medical card patients. I told the Taoiseach last year that the scheme has collapsed in Laois. It is still flat on the floor, being non-existent in almost all of the county. There still is just one dentist from Carlow providing a service in the community centre in Killeshin on the border of Laois and Carlow. No other practice in the county is taking medical card patients under the dental treatment services scheme. It is an absolute scandal that medical cardholders are without a service in Laois. Meanwhile, eight dentists are doing it in Offaly and a further eight are being recruited. I welcome that fact - if there are 16 there, that is good - having raised the situation in Offaly with the Taoiseach previously when the county was part of my constituency. What is the Government doing to address the situation in Laois?

The dental treatment benefit scheme, which is PRSI-based, has little or no substance. All people get is an examination and polish. Low- and middle-income workers and their families are being failed. Despite paying thousands of euro in tax, PRSI and USC every year, they cannot even get an extraction or a filling. Those workers and their families deserve better.

We are way behind other countries when it comes to public dental services. We have failed people. As I said, we are in the Dark Ages. There are other health problems caused by lack of dental care, such as stomach ulcers, gum disease and even a greater risk of blood poisoning. Will the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, take action now to address this?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that there are very significant difficulties and challenges with the dental treatment medical scheme and dental healthcare more generally in terms of the poor capacity in the public sector side of dental treatment.

The preponderance of people has been towards the private sector and the difficulty in terms of recruitment and establishing a comprehensive structure within the dental public health service has proven problematic for quite some time. There have been negotiations with the IDA and the Department of Health and there has been additional funding allocated. The Deputy is aware of the impact of that in County Offaly. I do not have the specifics of County Laois per se, but it seems to me, and I will speak to the Minister about this, that we need a more fundamental re-examination of how we provide dental services in the future in the most efficient and effective way that meets the needs of those who require such treatment, and what is the best mechanism for doing that. The existing approaches and more traditional approaches of the past have not borne fruit in terms of where dentists choose to operate or tend to do their practise and so on. That is a difficulty. I will ask the Minister to engage with the Deputy in respect of the situation in County Laois more specifically because he raised that.

Overall, dental health has improved fairly significantly. The public health side of dental health has been positive in terms of the basics people need to adhere to, but for those requiring treatment, many are waiting too long, particularly for orthodontics.

The Taoiseach does not have the specifics for County Laois, but I have given them to him. Most of the statistics I gave him are only a week old. The three public schemes are in crisis.

I did not get to raise the boy with special needs I mentioned to the Taoiseach, the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and previous Ministers. After six years of waiting in severe pain with periodontal disease, severe inflammation and bone loss, he has to be treated under anaesthetic in hospitals. I have raised this a number of times. Only now is he getting an appointment for a consultation. That gives the Taoiseach the scale of this. Three dental schemes need to be fixed; that is key. Will the Taoiseach now step up recruitment in Laois?

There is a particular problem in County Laois. The number of people in training places in dentistry has to be increased. We have to ensure there is active engagement between HSE management and dentists in County Laois to ascertain why private dentists are not taking them on. There are eight doing this in Offaly, which is good, but-----

The Taoiseach to respond, the Deputy’s time is up.

Will the Taoiseach now employ more HSE dentists to fill the gaps?

I call the Taoiseach.

There has to be more public dentists to fill those gaps. That is the message I want to get out.

The preponderence of people are moving more into the private sector. That is the reality. However, I take the Deputy’s point. There are ongoing reviews and discussions on this between the Minister and representative organisations. Recruitment has been ongoing and additional funding has been allocated over the past two to three years. I do not have the specifics on County Laois; I know the Deputy does. I will ask the Minister to engage with him in respect of County Laois specifically.

In terms of prioritisation, those with special needs should get first priority in terms of interventions.