Carol Nolan
Offaly · Independent · Ireland
“Despite this, her mother - who is utterly heartbroken and distressed as we can all imagine - is fiercely protective of her child and determined to protect her at all costs.”
“It is a form of cruelty beyond all description to force families to endure circumstances such as these. Many of us in this House are parents. What would we not do to help our teenage children? What is happening in Offaly is not an isolated case. I know there are cases around the country as well.”
“The Tánaiste will share my profound horror at the recent brutal murder of Jamey Carney, the absconding of her so-called partner to Jordan and the wider pattern of escalating violence against women that was raised earlier.”
“The schools are out, summer is well and truly upon us, and for most families this will be an opportunity to enjoy spending time with their children or grandchildren. Others will watch the kids being able to spend more time with their friends.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for his response and assistance. I directly informed the HSE about this situation, and I received an acknowledgement, but I will reach out to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and, with the consent of the parent, will pass on all details.”
“Will he therefore commit to a review of the relevant legislative and operational frameworks to ensure that, regardless of current statutory provisions, no chilling effect is being caused or created that might discourage or inhibit the reporting or public identification of suspects who are also international protection applicants, where su…”
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“I am asking the Minister to commit to extending the SUSI income thresholds for families like the one in the case I mentioned. These families are looking around and they see with frustration there are other categories of students, such as students who arrived here post the invasion of Ukraine, who are accessing free fees. The situation is terribly unfair and there are many civil servants around the country whose families are affected in the same way due to that modest pay increase.”
“Married couples in my constituency on decent but modest incomes are contacting my offices in frustration following confirmation from SUSI that their children are either not eligible for grants or fees or, if they are, are just entitled to the bare minimum. I am dealing with one case where one parent is a council employee and the other a civil servant. They have always instilled a profound work ethic in their children, they have always paid their taxes and they have never asked the State for anything in terms of welfare. They now find their eldest child is only entitled to a SUSI grant of €500 because of the Government pay rise paid to all civil servants. While that is a very modest pay increase, and a welcome one, it has pushed their son over the income threshold. This is an unfair situation and has put a financial strain on this couple.”
“However, I would remind them that we have been effectively held hostage to a crippling green policy and mandate for the past four years that has levied cost after cost on farmers and will take billions of euro out of our economy in the form of regressive carbon taxes which I have always opposed. The Government may speak of controlling what we can control in response to the tariff regime but I remind the Government that we have a terrible record of handing control on a wide range of issues to an unaccountable EU bureaucracy that is vehemently hostile to President Trump. As Michael McNamara MEP recently confirmed, the EU has been at war with ordinary workers since before Donald Trump. It cannot now present itself as their champion with any degree of credibility.”
“The tariff trauma has begun. Even if our industries, particularly our pharmaceutical and agri-export sectors, can escape the worst of the challenges that arise, there is no doubt that we are in for a sustained period of economic uncertainty that is going to send chills through tens of thousands of households in this State. However, I want to state clearly that we have, in effect, squandered the last four years in terms of shoring up our own indigenous sectors. The previous Government was worse than any Trump Administration or initiative when it came to burning turf, for example, or the inexcusable delay in making sure we have energy security and independence through LNG. The Green Party Deputy and some Government Members may well stand up here today and condemn President Trump for the harm he may be doing.”
“We have a situation whereby they can drive a bus to Mayo or Donegal to bring children to matches or whatnot but they cannot bring children down the road to a local school. It just does not make sense. I am again calling for practical common sense to be put in place quickly and for it to prevail on this matter because there is a huge shortage of bus drivers again this year.”
“While I have expressed my concerns from the employer's point of view, it does seem like the kind of flexibility I have sought for many years in the context of the mandatory retirement age for school bus drivers. We need greater flexibility in that regard. Bus drivers and bus operators have contacted me on this. There is a huge shortage of school bus drivers for this coming September and we need to look at this issue. There are moves to encourage people to stay on in the workforce if they so wish but I have been contacted by many frustrated people. There is an injustice. If they are medically fit and have passed medical tests, I cannot see why they cannot be allowed to remain on as school bus drivers.”
“From the employer’s perspective, there are also issues around the burden created for the employer when it comes to individually justifying retirement age for an individual worker and not as a general class of worker. I know this aims to prevent blanket policies but there are issues of how practical it may be, particularly in small workplaces. I am also concerned about the limited scope of application and the complexity of the notification process for the employee. While I believe that we are moving in the right direction, the Bill as it stands is too limited. Again, I note that if a new regime is brought in, the employer must be capable of justifying the retirement age for the individual worker as distinct from a general class of worker.”
“I wish the Minister of State well in her new role and look forward to working with her on a number of issues. The Bill before us is in response to the Pensions Commission’s recommendations and implementation plan, published in 2022. Many aspects are welcome but there are also many concerns. The Government subsequently committed to introducing a range of reforms to ensure the pensions system is sustainable and that people relying on the State pension have adequate and predictable income in retirement. However, I note that I have concerns with the Bill as drafted and particularly the level of ambiguity around the objective and reasonable justification that an employer may use to deny a request from an employee to remain in employment.”
“I thank the Taoiseach for his response. The pilot scheme has failed. We are certainly all in agreement on that. However, I am concerned about the backlog of children waiting for in-school therapists. I acknowledge that a disability forum will be set up, which is progress in the right direction, but there is a need and a vacuum now. Offaly School of Special Education has done its level best in working to get the in-school therapists in place but that still has not happened. Is it possible that private therapists could be hired in the interim until the disability forum is working properly? This is an emergency situation. It is correct that the number of SNAs across the country has increased, but there are particularly acute needs in special schools. These schools feel that the current framework is restrictive.”
“A planning application for a new school will go to the county council by the middle of this month, but there is an urgent need to guarantee that the school is built on time and be well equipped. The proposed completion date for the new school is the end of 2027. It is imperative that this happens. Offaly School of Special Education is not asking for miracles, but it is asking for adequate staff support, an increase in enhanced therapeutic resources and a recognition that the current system is just not fit for purpose. Will the Taoiseach commit to ensuring that the school receives whatever help it needs to keep its doors open?”
“The school was promised two in-school therapists - an occupational therapist and a speech and language therapist - but, to date, the HSE has been unable to fill those positions despite many months of trying. The difficulties in securing additional SNAs from the NCSE are also proving to be exceptionally cumbersome. I am constantly informed that not only is the paperwork onerous, but there is a cap placed on the number of SNAs any special school can have. It really should be based on need. That would make far more sense than a cap. How is this reasonable and why is this criterion being applied to special schools when there is a need and there is justification for hiring more SNAs?”
“Francis School in Portlaoise and Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise were also denied entry to the pilot programme in August, when phase 1 of the initiative was announced. Today, I wish to highlight specifically the challenges faced by Offaly School of Special Education. I visited the school some months ago and it is a fantastic school. I commend the principal and all the teachers and hard-working SNAs who do so much to help the students. What I witnessed was very impressive and the care for all students was to be noted. This year, Offaly School of Special Education had 18 applications for the one space it was capable of offering. Next year, it will still have just one vacancy.”
“I wish to raise an issue that is of considerable importance not only to my constituency of Offaly, but to many areas nationally that have witnessed a dramatic increase in the level of demand. I refer to special education schools and the enormous pressure they are under every single day to keep the doors open, retain staff and deliver urgent therapeutic interventions to all pupils in their care. Last November, there was major disappointment and anger at the news that special schools in Laois and Offaly had yet again been excluded from participation in the then Government's pilot programme for enhanced school therapy supports. Offaly School of Special Education in Tullamore, St.”
“Even allowing for the storm being a relatively rare nature event, it was an international embarrassment to see the country crippled by such extensive damage to its electricity, telecoms and water infrastructure. I commend the communities who worked together to get through it, the many who made their community centres available and the Eir workers.”
“This motion calls on the Government to provide clarity as to the duration of the scheme's application window, to expand the humanitarian assistance scheme to businesses and farmers and to ensure a thorough and timely fulfilment of reviews submitted by scheme applicants who have been refused or have not been satisfied with the amount awarded to them. I agree with those calls, which is why I will support the motion. These are reasonable demands, notwithstanding the often unreasonable nature of the party proposing them. Speaking more generally, the political impact of the recent storm has been to blow the roof off the carefully constructed narrative that Ireland's major infrastructural deficits are a thing of the past.”
“All the food in the family's fridge and freezer was spoiled and their only source of hot food was to eat from takeaways. They had no heating other than a portable gas fire which was moved from room to room to heat the house. Because of all of the food that was wasted and the purchase of takeaway food and bottles of gas to try to heat some of the house, the family decided to apply for the humanitarian aid scheme as the father was in receipt of a social welfare payment. They received a reply to inform them that they had been awarded the measly sum of just €15 to cover the extra costs for a family of four. It was put to me that this amount would not even cover the VAT rate on the costs they had incurred. This is totally unacceptable and needs to be revisited.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity to speak on this motion. I am aware that many people are yet to receive a response to applications they submitted under the humanitarian assistance scheme. I am engaging with the Department to see how this process might be escalated given that it is now almost two months since the storm. Last month, I submitted a number of parliamentary questions to the Minister on behalf of a number of people who had received a payment under stages 1 and 2 of the humanitarian assistance scheme, asking whether additional resources would be allocated given the scale of need. I did this after I was contacted by a constituent who informed me he had applied for the scheme after his family was left with power and heating for over three days.”
“What an example to lead by. What would that be like in government? What would the country be like? A disgrace. It is shameful. I will make my vote here today with a settled and calm conscience that this is the right thing do.”
“It was the Deputies' own dear leader, the feminist herself, who stood up and engaged in shocking behaviour in this House. It was shocking behaviour.”
“That is the nature of politics but we are all elected to do our jobs, and we have been unable to do our jobs in this Chamber where it has just been made impossible, as was pointed out by my colleagues, because of the atmosphere, the intimidation and the toxic environment that has been created. We should all agree that vicious personal attacks, attempts to undermine and even degrade for the purposes of pathetic political optics are unworthy of this House and the tradition on which it was built. The Ceann Comhairle is capable of discharging her duties in a fair and impartial manner, and what has happened here over the past few weeks has been nothing short of an advertisement for women to stay away from Irish political life.”
“Stop it, will you? Have respect. The Deputies are a disgrace. I spent too long with them. I will be voting in support of the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Verona Murphy, from one female politician to another, and as one who has had more than her fair share of spite and political attacks to contend with, particularly from one party in here. I will not sit on the fence as others have done while attempts are made to engage in what amounts to a coercive form of democratic vandalism to the constitutional offices of this State. The Ceann Comhairle was elected by the majority of this House, whether Deputies like it or not, and the Ceann Comhairle can only retain her position through a democratically endorsed ballot, whether they like it or not. All of us here will not agree on everything, and that is politics and democracy.”
“They are doing their level best and yet they are contributing towards their accommodation, which is only right and fair, but they see others in the IPAS system who are not contributing a cent. That is totally unfair. I ask for a change in that regard.”
“Why does that not apply in the same way to IPAS applicants? It is very unfair. I am aware of many people who are in receipt of HAP who work part time, who are doing their best and who have young families, yet they are asked to contribute, which they willingly and wholeheartedly do, while IPAS applicants are not asked to contribute a single cent. That is fundamentally wrong and it must be changed quickly because it is creating a lot of anger, frustration and division. I ask the Government to change this because it is blatant discrimination and unfairness towards our own people who are desperately trying to work. I am aware of many parents who work part time. They are trying to keep their children in school or in college.”
“Now that the ceasefire is in place and a peace deal looks increasingly likely for Ukraine, it is time for us to actively encourage Ukrainians who can return home to do so. Everybody knows we have a housing emergency and we need those rooms for our own rental market. I also want to highlight the issue of a contribution towards accommodation. It is shameful that fully employed or self-employed IPAS applicants are not being asked to contribute a single cent towards the cost of their accommodation. I discovered this last year through a series of parliamentary questions and it was confirmed to me yet again in a recent follow-up question. Why is this level of double standard being allowed to persist? Those on the housing assistance payment, HAP, who work must contribute towards the cost of their accommodation.”
“I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak on this very important issue this evening. I am totally opposed to the scheme because it is clear that it is radically distorting the private rental market. It is essentially a form of preferential treatment that is not available to renters in other categories. The problem with the scheme is that it is divisive. From the launch of the scheme in July 2022 to 3 March 2025, approximately €256 million has issued to more than 22,600 hosts in respect of hosting almost 5,300 temporary protection beneficiaries. As of 3 March 2025, there were almost 20,000 active claims in payment in respect of hosting almost 37,000 temporary protection beneficiaries from Ukraine.”
“I understand from reports I have read in The Irish Times going back to last year that hauliers and companies are encountering costs of between €15,000 and €20,000 for repairs to trucks because of poor quality biofuels coming into the country. I call on the Minister to be proactive on this issue, listen to the IRHA and set up the independent regulatory body to monitor the fuel quality of biofuel imports.”
“At this point, given that organisations which have been around since the 1970s, such as the Irish Road Haulage Association, IRHA, and which are experts in this field, are raising concerns, we need to take on board what they are saying and we need an independent regulatory body to monitor fuel quality, particularly in terms of imports. I acknowledge the Minister's work in transposing the EU fuel quality directive into Irish law. It was a very welcome and worthwhile step. However, we need to do more and quickly. An independent regulatory body is the way to go in order to ensure that samples are scientifically examined and that the quality is checked.”
“I am calling on our Government to consider the imposition of whatever available sanctions we can on Nigeria until it fully respects the rights of all Christians to live in peace. In terms of the international trade aspect of these statements, I want to refer to our haulage sector, which is a vital cog in the economic wheel of international exports. Indeed, in terms of employment here in Ireland, it is a huge employer, particularly in rural areas. However, there are rising concerns over the biofuel imports that are coming into the country. It is my understanding that only last weekend the Sunday Business Post carried an article in which it stated that Circle K has stopped imports of palm oil mill effluent, mainly originating in Malaysia and Indonesia.”
“The Tánaiste may be aware of reports that the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa has approved measures urging President Trump to impose sanctions on Nigeria due to the widespread persecution of Christians following the Congress hearing on 12 March. This is being reported that US lawmakers condemned the Nigerian Government for its failure to protect Christian communities from escalating violence citing alarming data from multiple human rights organisations there. A 2024 report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa revealed that Nigeria accounted for 90% of all Christians killed globally each year. The report documented that, between October 2019 and September 2023, at least 55,910 people were killed and 21,000 others were abducted by terrorist groups operating in the country.”
“Tá áthas orm an deis a fháil labhairt ar ráitis maidir le slándáil idirnáisiúnta agus trádáil idirnáisiúnta anseo inniu. We all want to see a settled and peaceful international order, not least because of the cost that usually occurs in terms of human life when there is no such order. I am also concerned about the blatant militarisation of the EU, the growing willingness to cloak aggression under the guise of defence and the gradual erosion of our military neutrality, but today I want to raise a specific issue of international security for Christian communities worldwide.”
“While I understand that normal service is slowly resuming in CHO 8, unfortunately, the impact on care will be seen well into this year. Will the Tánaiste commit to implementing the HCCI policy recommendations to tackle the waiting lists such as setting up a waiting list task force, delivering targeted funding for rural homecare delivery, designing a homecare workforce strategy and encouraging homecare providers into homecare blackspots?”
“The new report by Home and Community Care Ireland, HCCI, on homecare waiting lists, which was covered in The Irish Times yesterday, reveals that 5,556 older people are waiting for homecare at the end of last year. The waiting list in CHO 8, which covers my constituency of Offaly and includes County Laois, rose steeply by 31% to 932 people waiting. This represents the second-highest waiting list in the State. In counties Laois and Offaly, between 350 and 400 people are on waiting lists for homecare. The reason for this increase is that in CHO 8 the HSE decided to ration homecare for financial reasons. At the end of 2024, HCCI learned that in CHO 8 the HSE stopped allocating most new homecare packages, with only 50% of recycled hours being allocated.”
“Unfortunately, the responses I have received so far are less than encouraging. If we cannot meet supply, we must cut demand. That means effectively closing our borders and our services to tens of thousands who are here and who are expected to arrive here without any legal right to be here, but who still claim accommodation. I wonder where Sinn Féin lies on that issue. They have been mouthing here all day and calling us all sorts of names. I will tell you one thing. Sinn Féin tried pushing me around before when I was in their damn party and they will not get away with it. I will make it very clear.”
“Last year, the Parliamentary Budget Office published data on the number of households eligible for but not yet in receipt of social housing in my constituency of Offaly. The Parliamentary Budget Office analysis was based on what it would have cost to house the number of households on the social housing waiting lists, plus the households in receipt of the housing assistance payment. The cost for County Offaly and for the county council list was put at €338 million overall. That figure really sums up all of this. It sums up the acute emergency that we have because the cost is staggering. We have an immigration crisis that is overwhelming our accommodation capacity. I have tabled a number of parliamentary questions to the Minister's Department in the past week on this very issue.”
“Under the programme for Government, there is a commitment to balanced regional development, rightly so. However, in my county of Offaly, we are particularly disadvantaged given that we have endured the brunt of the just transition, with 53% of the job losses. This is coupled with the fact that Cardinal Health in Tullamore, the main town in the county, will see 315 job losses at the end of this month. It is vital that every possible intervention is made to urgently create more jobs in County Offaly. What actions will the Government take to ensure that priority is given to job creation in County Offaly? If we are to achieve balanced regional development, it is counties like Offaly that need the focus. A focus needs to be put on our county.”
“Tá na grúpaí seo ag lorg níos mó infheistithe sa teanga ón Rialtas anseo agus an ceann sa Tuaisceart. Eagraíodh an stailc tar éis ciorraithe de beagnach €820,000 ó Foras na Gaeilge ar ghrúpaí Gaeilge. Tá gá ann anois tacaíocht a thabhairt don Ghaeilge agus d’Fhoras na Gaeilge gan mhoill agus ár seacht ndícheall a dhéanamh chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn agus ár dteanga dúchais a choimeád beo agus láidir.”
“Fuair mé freagra ar cheist parlaiminte cúpla seachtain ó shin ar cheist a bhain le Gaeilge mar ábhar scoile. Sa fhreagra sin, bhí ionadh orm nuair a chonaic mé na huimhreacha maidir le díolúintí atá faighte ag daltaí ar fud na tíre seo. I mo chontae féin, Contae Uíbh Fhailí, fuair 400 dalta díolúine ón nGaeilge. Baineann formhór na ndíolúintí seo le hoideachas dara leibhéal. Fuair 320 dalta díolúine ón nGaeilge. Mar gheall air sin, ba chóir dúinn scrúdú éigin a dhéanamh ar an gcóras maidir leis na díolúintí Gaeilge. An cheist atá ann ná an bhfuil an córas atá againn rósholúbtha nó cad atá ag tarlú. Ba mhaith liom tagairt a dhéanamh den stailc a tharla ag deireadh mhí Feabhra freisin. D’eagraigh 40 grúpa teanga Gaeilge ar fud na tíre an stailc seo.”
“That increase was over the course of three years. It is not acceptable. Gardaí are stretched beyond reason, despite all the pledges from the Government regarding ramping up recruitment. We cannot shy away from the need to put in place entirely new measures to record data on the level of crime being committed by those in the country illegally or without proper vetting. This is absolutely necessary. People simply have no confidence that the tens of thousands of people arriving here are being checked against criminal databases. Absolutely nobody should get a pass or free rein just because they have entered a country through the asylum process. I am again calling for robust and forensic levels of scrutiny to be applied to this issue.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on what has become an issue of major public and community concern. There can be no doubt that we are witnessing a significant escalation in knife-related incidents and antisocial behaviour and, in many cases, a rapid deterioration of respect for the rule of law. If you talk to communities or retailers away from the glare of the public spotlight, they will tell you that preteens and young adults are engaging in dramatically high levels of unchecked intimidation, vandalism and petty crime, often with little Garda intervention due to age protections. The reply to a recent parliamentary question I tabled indicated the number of Garda members assigned to my own county of Offaly rose by just five from the end of December 2021 up to 31 October 2024, from a low of 157 to 162.”
“I am calling on Government to give clarity to farmers who are asking the question about Government's position and also calling on Government to notify the EU Commission of our outright objection to this deal in its current format because livelihoods are at stake and our economy will suffer should this deal be ratified.”
“I want to raise issues regarding the Mercosur deal in its proposed format. There are huge concerns among farmers. I have met all of the farming organisations about this issue. They have raised concerns directly with me. More than 170,000 people are employed in our agrifood sector. Farming livelihoods that must be protected at all costs. Farmers need straight answers on the Government's position on this proposed deal, which is reckless, and that is not to mention the health concerns in terms of hormones in the beef coming into the EU markets.”
“We are now living in a society where an average of 10,000 abortions take place each year . We are also living in a society where it is becoming increasingly difficult for families to survive and thrive. Since 2021, I have repeatedly raised this issue with the Minister for Finance in the context of tax individualisation which may be discriminatory in practice as it penalises single-income married couples by making it necessary for them to pay more tax than two-income married couples.”
“Tá áthas orm labhairt ar na ráitis sláinte anocht. The demographics are all pointing one way and that is towards a predominantly older population and decreasing birth rates. It is a phenomenon that we are witnessing across the western world and in dramatic forms in Asia, including China, where population replacement levels are collapsing. Clearly this will present enormous challenges for our healthcare system, especially in the context of an already overburdened nursing home sector where closures in recent years have been rising dramatically under cost conditions that are simply unsustainable for many private operators. There is also a deeper, more fundamental challenge to us all. It is that in many ways we are becoming an anti-child and anti-family culture.”
“I call on the Minister to please ensure that Offaly gets urgent intervention in terms of therapists and assessments of need.”
“I with the Minister well in her role and look forward to collaborating with her on many issues. In County Offaly, 525 children are waiting on assessments of need. Two CDNTs, networks 10 and 11 cover the county. I am very concerned about this. I am also concerned about the fact that there are no preschool places in Edenderry for children with autism. I actually met a parent this morning who told me that. I was shocked. I knew it was an issue at primary and a secondary level but not at preschool level. I hope that can be addressed. The issue of therapists and the shortage in Offaly is nothing short of a national scandal at this stage. I have a child who had an amputation some years ago who cannot get an occupational therapist. In this day and age, that is absolutely disgraceful and appalling.”
“I recently submitted a number of parliamentary questions on the issue of the agrifood regulator and other matters to the Department, including the need, as I have said, to reduce the bureaucratic burden, in particular given the increasing complexity and conditionality attached to so many schemes. I welcome the Minister's reply in which he committed to reducing that burden, but we really need to see action, as I stated previously. I also asked how the Minister intended to ensure Irish farmers are adequately compensated for their role in carbon sequestration, particularly by maintaining hedgerows and grasslands. We need to make sure this is also clear. Mercosur is also a huge concern. We need clarity from the Government on this.”
“What does that really mean, however, if our producers continue to be short changed on fair pricing? I have raised this issue many times in this House. I welcome that we have an agrifood regulator in place, but it has called to be given more powers, and this has to happen as soon as possible to protect farmers and to ensure they are getting a fair price for high-quality produce. We also need to ensure monitoring is taking place at all times regarding issues that arise that farmers bring to our attention and that need to be acted upon quickly. The bureaucracy of the schemes needs to be looked at, and many farming organisations have brought this issue to my attention. The schemes can be extremely bureaucratic and we have to try to simplify them and make it easier for farmers.”
“I wish the Minister, Deputy Heydon, the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, well in their roles and I look forward to collaborating with them as we go forward. I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this core pillar of our indigenous and export market sector. It is very important and the sector has kept the lights on in this country in the bleakest of times. It is a huge contributor to the economy and therefore it is vital we protect farming livelihoods. We all know the Irish agri sector encompasses a wide range of activities: from primary agriculture to food and drink processing and manufacturing to fisheries, forestry and the equine sector. It is estimated to generate more than €8.5 billion annually.”
“In addition to this, an urgent ministerial direction to the Department of Health must be issued to commence independently chaired discussions with the Irish Dental Association on a new scheme to replace the medical card scheme. We cannot continue with this scenario. We need action on this matter.”
“I have been informed that schoolchildren within my constituency of Offaly, who should be seen by the HSE dental service three times before the age of 12, are actually only seeing a dentist for the first time when they are well into secondary school. These concerns were raised with me by the Irish Dental Association at an emergency meeting in Portlaoise three years ago. I was shocked to hear, however, how far the services have deteriorated since that time. We now know that children in Offaly are not receiving the first of their three dental checks until they are in transition year. There needs to be an immediate commencement of discussions with the Irish Dental Association to address the crisis in the recruitment and retention of dentists.”