Pádraig Rice
Cork South-Central · Social Democrats · Ireland
“There is no clinical reason this should not be extended to oral contraceptives. Pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals. They should be allowed to operate at the top of their licence. They are available in every community and are very accessible.”
“I welcome the Bill. We spend a lot of time inside these Houses talking about other parts of reproductive healthcare and not enough about contraception, so it is really welcome that we are having a focus and discussion on it and are moving forward with changes.”
“The oral contraceptive pill has been around for well over half a century and is one of the safest and most well-studied medicines available. In 2019, the World Health Organization publicly stated that oral contraception should be available without needing prescription.”
“I move amendment No. 8: In page 5, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Report on prescription-free oral contraceptives 4. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on a proposal to allow registered pharmacists to dispense prescription-free oral contracepti…”
“We are talking about the prescription of oral contraceptives as called for by the World Health Organization, as set out by the Irish Pharmacy Union and as endorsed by the previous health committee. We are looking for a report on that with the detail of the various elements, if more detail is required.”
“It is important that we allow pharmacists to operate at the top of their licence and give them as much power as possible, and alleviate pressures on GPs. As I said, this is recommended by the World Health Organization and endorsed by the previous health committee and the IPU. That is the background to this amendment.”
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“It is important that we allow pharmacists to operate at the top of their licence and give them as much power as possible, and alleviate pressures on GPs. As I said, this is recommended by the World Health Organization and endorsed by the previous health committee and the IPU. That is the background to this amendment. Many pharmacists have private spaces where they do consultations about emergency contraception. Those spaces exist. It is one that we can maybe think about and have dialogue and engagement about in future. We can think about how we make the most of pharmacists and take pressure off GPs, while doing so with the best health outcomes.”
“We are talking about the prescription of oral contraceptives as called for by the World Health Organization, as set out by the Irish Pharmacy Union and as endorsed by the previous health committee. We are looking for a report on that with the detail of the various elements, if more detail is required. It was from that call from the IPU, endorsed by the health committee. The committee previously wrote to the Minister about access to oral contraceptives. There is a letter in the Department from the previous health committee, in 2023, setting out the detail on this. That is the call as endorsed by the IPU. Beyond that, the Minister may consider the report.”
“It would also be particularly beneficial for those not eligible for the free contraception scheme. It would reduce the cost since they would not have to go to the GP. We are looking for the Minister to consider that issue and produce a report for the Dáil within six months.”
“There is no clinical reason this should not be extended to oral contraceptives. Pharmacists are highly trained healthcare professionals. They should be allowed to operate at the top of their licence. They are available in every community and are very accessible. They have private consulting rooms, already used for emergency contraception. If we find that a patient would benefit more from long-acting, reversible contraceptives, the patient can be referred to the GP by the pharmacist. Accepting this amendment would further alleviate pressures on already overstretched GPs. We know that the report published by the National Women's Council in April found that the survey respondents cited access to GPs as a significant barrier in accessing the free contraceptive scheme, particularly for migrants, people from rural areas and Travellers.”
“The oral contraceptive pill has been around for well over half a century and is one of the safest and most well-studied medicines available. In 2019, the World Health Organization publicly stated that oral contraception should be available without needing prescription. In 2023, the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU, told the Oireachtas health committee that there is no clinical reason for oral contraceptives to be supplied only on foot of prescription, with proper protocols in place for a very safe and effective healthcare intervention. In 2023, the health committee endorsed the IPU's call and wrote to the previous Minister for Health urging him to allow direct access to oral contraceptives through community pharmacists. Community pharmacists had been providing emergency contraception prescription-free since 2011.”
“I move amendment No. 8: In page 5, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Report on prescription-free oral contraceptives 4. The Minister shall, within six months of the passing of this Act, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report on a proposal to allow registered pharmacists to dispense prescription-free oral contraceptives.”. This is an amendment looking for a report on the provision of prescription-free oral contraceptives. It calls on the Minister, within six months of the passing of the Act, to lay before Dáil Éireann a report on the proposal to allow registered pharmacists to dispense prescription-free oral contraception. While the Bill as printed allows pharmacists to represcribe certain contraceptives, we believe that oral contraceptives should be available prescription-free.”
“It is certainly something that should be considered. It is not a huge amount of money. It would increase access and we need to expand the eligibility more broadly.”
“I welcome the Bill. We spend a lot of time inside these Houses talking about other parts of reproductive healthcare and not enough about contraception, so it is really welcome that we are having a focus and discussion on it and are moving forward with changes. On the point in relation to the eligibility piece, it is important that we expand eligibility as much as possible, and at the older age groups as well. In a reply to a parliamentary question last month, the Minister said that expanding access for 36- for 40-year-olds only costs €5 million per year and that is something that should be considered in terms of increasing the age group upwards as well. The National Women's Council report found that 31% of women experienced barriers in accessing free contraception and age limit was one of the most cited barriers there as well.”
“It is deeply disappointing that the Government has not announced plans to issue a State apology to thalidomide survivors. The Tánaiste said 2026 has to be the year we bring some degree of closure to these people who have been treated so badly. Time is running out. There are just 40 survivors left; this issue must be resolved. There are only two weeks until we go into summer recess. We need to have statements on the issue and to hear from Government why it has treated the survivors so badly and when it intends to make the apology that has been promised.”
“It calls for the introduction of an ethnic identifier across every public service, as called for as far back as 2010 but not implemented. It also calls for an annual parliamentary account mechanism whereby the Minster for Health comes to the Dáil every single year and reports to us on what he or she has done on these recommendations. This cannot be allowed to sit on the shelf and gather dust like all the other reports.”
“Last Wednesday, the Traveller committee published a damning report on Traveller health inequality. The statistics show extreme levels of inequality due to systemic discrimination, racism and neglect by the State. The statistics speak for themselves. Suicide rates for Travellers are six times higher and infant mortality three and a half times higher, while life expectancy is over a decade shorter for Traveller women and 15 years shorter for Traveller men. These statistics are alarming, but all we have gotten is silence from the Minister for Health, the HSE and the Department. Has the Government considered this report? Was it discussed at Cabinet this week? What is the Government going to do about it? The report calls for a radical and urgent change of direction from Departments, State agencies and public services.”
“One person said, "It left me with trauma, from which I am still attempting to heal, it destroyed my self worth … and my health." The College of Psychiatry describes it as unethical, harmful and not supported by evidence. Eight other EU states have already legislated and six years after a commitment, we are still waiting. When are we going to get this legislation?”
“This weekend, tens of thousands of people will march through the streets of Dublin for Dublin Pride. Dublin Pride is a really good party, but it is also a protest and a call for progress. Sadly, under the Tánaiste's leadership, we have not seen any progress. We are now consistently ranked 14th in Europe in terms of LGBT human rights and policy protections year after year. I will give one example, namely, the commitment to ban conversion therapy and conversion practices. It was included in the programme for Government in 2020 and recommitted to in 2025, but we have not seen progress. Research commissioned by the Government describes conversion therapy as traumatising, horrendous and anxiety provoking.”
“(5) A person shall not sell by retail a nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product with a variant name which implies that such product has— (a) a particular sensory characteristic, or otherwise contains references to temperatures, textures or oral sensations, or (b) a flavour other than that described in the flavour name. (6) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (5) commits an offence.”.”.”
“(4) When making regulations under subsection (3), the Minister shall, having regard to public health and to the objectives of reducing harm from tobacco products, nicotine inhaling products and nicotine consumption products and prioritising the protection of health of children, take the following matters into account: (a) the need to limit flavour names that may disproportionately appeal to children; (b) evidence relating to flavours for nicotine inhaling products and smoking cessation, initiation and continuation of nicotine inhaling product use, or harm to health relating to nicotine inhaling products and nicotine consumption products; (c) the prevalence of smoking of tobacco and use of nicotine inhaling products or nicotine consumption products in both children and adults, and the demographics of children and adults who smoke tobacco or use nicotine inhaling products or nicotine consumption products; (d) evidence of the effectiveness, and other impacts, of the restrictions concerning flavour names for nicotine inhaling products and nicotine consumption products contained in this Act.”
“I move amendment No. 3: In page 28, to delete lines 8 to 39, and substitute the following: “Flavour names of nicotine inhaling products and nicotine consumption products 32F . (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person shall not sell by retail a nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product with a flavour name. (2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the sale by retail of a nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product with a flavour name specified in the Schedule. (3) Subject to subsection (4), the Minister may, by regulation, add flavour names to the flavour names specified in the Schedule or remove flavour names specified in the Schedule.”
“Ministers and their officials do not listen to us. We then end up with legislation that is defective and that needs to be improved. It is not just me saying that; it is also the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation. Very well respected national organisations which campaign on these issues have stated that there is a gap in our law and that we should proceed with our amendment. I would like to see these amendments being progressed.”
“I am not convinced that we should not be doing this now. As I said, we will be back here trying to do it anyway. I do not see a reason for that, other than the fact that there would be a delay. That seems to be part of the EU process. It appears that we will have to legislate in any event and will be back here with another Bill. I do not accept the argument from the Minister of State that we are only hearing about these matters now. My party and my colleague Deputy Whitmore have raised this point repeatedly in the media and in the House over a number of years. This is not new; it is not something we came up with last week. There has been concern about the use of nicotine pouches by teenagers in schools. We have flagged this concern, but it is clear that we are not being listened to when we make contributions in the Dáil.”
“Our argument is that we should do so now. On EU law, the Minister of State might clarify whether there is a suggestion that the EU might pass an EU-wide law or give direction at national level, meaning that we will be back here dealing with another Bill. Is an EU-wide law proposed for nicotine pouches? Why was this not included in the Bill in the first place?”
“If I understand the Minister of State correctly, what she is suggesting is that the Government did not think about this and neglected to address this part of the legislation, thereby leaving a hole in the law. We now have to proceed because if we address this, we will have to go to the EU to get permission to do so. There is clearly a gap in the Bill, and there is no explanation from the Minister of State as to why this was not dealt with in either the first draft or the original notification to the EU. I accept the Minister of State's argument that addressing this could delay the Bill, particularly as it was not done in the first place, but that is a mess of the Government's making. It is not our mess; we are trying to fix the hole in the law. It is inevitable that we will have to deal with nicotine pouches, advertising and flavours.”
“If we do not accept these amendments tonight, we will be here in future with another Bill. We will be trying to do it then. As I said, we should try to close all of the gaps now and be efficient in how we deal with legislation in the House. The Government should be open to taking amendments from the Opposition. These amendments were drafted in collaboration with the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation. I encourage the Minister of State to accept them.”
“We now have data which was financed by the Department of Health. In May 2025, the European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs found that 8% of 15- and 16-year-olds reported having used nicotine pouches at some point, while 4% currently use nicotine pouches. The use of nicotine pouches was significantly higher among male students at 9.1% and the most common age at which people started using these nicotine pouches was 15. It is important to note that this data is from fieldwork carried out between March and May of 2024. Given the noticeable surge in nicotine pouch use since then and the aggressive marketing of these products, we would have to assume that it is much higher now. We need to take action on this and I do not think we should delay, otherwise we will be back here again.”
“As people will know, nicotine pouches are small, odourless tobacco-free pouches that contain nicotine, flavourings and other ingredients. They are placed between the lips and the gum. You get between 15 and 20 pouches for around €5 to €7. They are available in various strengths and are designed to deliver high-concentration amounts of nicotine into the bloodstream. There is no smoke or vapour with these products, unlike cigarettes or vapes. At the moment these products are openly displayed in shops in bright, attractive packaging and in a wide variety of flavours. We have talked in the Social Democrats - my colleague, Deputy Whitmore, has raised it numerous times - about the rise in teens using these products and how they are being targeted in the advertising of these products. It is no longer just anecdotal evidence.”
“On Second Stage, I raised concerns about the exclusion of nicotine pouches from the packaging and flavouring restrictions. We should treat nicotine pouches and any other nicotine consumption products the same as we are treating vapes. It is incredibly short-sighted not to amend this legislation. If it is not addressed now, it seems inevitable that further legislation will be required. As I have said repeatedly, we should use our time effectively and efficiently in the Dáil and we should legislate here while we have the opportunity instead of waiting, coming back with another Bill and doing this at a future stage. We should do this now. The amendments I am putting forward today have been drafted in collaboration with the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation, which support the calls here. I hope the Dáil will endorse them.”
“(5) Where a unit packet of a nicotine inhaling product or a nicotine consumption product contains a lining or inner packaging, such lining or inner packaging shall be of such colour and material as may be prescribed. (6) Subsection (1) shall not apply to any warnings or identification marks (including health warnings) provided for by law. (7) A person who sells by retail a nicotine inhaling product which contravenes subsection (1), (2), (4) or (5) commits an offence.”.”. On the amendment that was ruled out of order, just to note that it deals with an important issue. Maybe it could be considered at a future stage. It is happening that they are being given out for free at festivals and I think Deputy Sherlock had a point there. On my own amendments, I will speak about amendments Nos. 2 and 3 together because they are related.”
“(2) A barcode or other identification mark or code may be printed once on a unit packet and, if so printed, shall be printed in a prescribed colour. (3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall apply with all necessary modifications to any other form of outside packaging of nicotine inhaling products or nicotine consumption products. (4) A wrapper that covers a unit packet or any other form of outside packaging for a nicotine inhaling product or a nicotine consumption product shall comply with the following requirements: (a) it shall be transparent and not be coloured; (b) it shall not bear any decorative ridges, embossing or other embellishments; (c) where a tear strip is included, such tear strip shall be a prescribed colour; (d) it shall not have any affixed item other than as provided for by law.”
“(1) Subject to Regulation 29 of the Regulations of 2016 and subsection (6), a unit packet of a nicotine inhaling product or a nicotine consumption product intended for sale by retail in the State shall comply with the following requirements: (a) the outer surface thereof shall be a prescribed colour; (b) the inner surface thereof shall be a prescribed colour; (c) it shall not bear any decorative ridges, embossing or other embellishments; (d) it shall not contain an adhesive that is coloured or non-transparent; (e) it shall not contain any imagery such as cartoons or graphics, other than— (i) a single realistic depiction of the nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product, which depiction complies with the requirements of sections 32C and 32D, or (ii) any illustrated safety or usage instructions; (f) where any text, safety or usage instructions or a trade mark is visible, such text, safety or usage instructions or trade mark shall be a prescribed colour; (g) it shall not contain any affixed item or any item other than the nicotine inhaling product or nicotine consumption product itself and any inner packaging other than as provided for by law.”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 27, to delete lines 5 to 39, and in page 28, to delete lines 1 to 7 and substitute the following: “Retail packaging of nicotine inhaling product and nicotine consumption products 32E.”
“We are not making the kind of progress we should be making on these issues. We also need to stand up to countries around the world that are rowing back on LGBT rights. We need to get a stronger stance in international and foreign affairs on these issues. I do not want to be back here next year saying again that we have not seen the kind of progress we need. I want the Government to make progress. I will cheer it on if it advances the law reform agenda set out by the Social Democrats and others, but the Government has not made that kind of progress. It has not done the kinds of things that need to be done to improve people's lives. During this Pride, we want the Government to make commitments to advance all of these issues and more.”
“We need to see law reform, family rights issues addressed, the Equality Acts updated, legal gender recognition for non-binary people and a ban on infant genital mutilation. Ireland scored 0% on the ILGA-Europe rankings on the rights and protections for intersex people. We need a national action plan to ban hate crime. I could go on and on. We also need to address issues of mental health. We need better funding and services. We need to tackle HIV transmission and invest in community services across the country. We need to close the remaining gaps in the law and focus on the more marginalised parts of our community. A large number of people who are LGBT are homeless or seeking international protection. We need to ensure we have support and dedicated services in place for more vulnerable members of the community.”
“We have been left waiting and it not good enough. Rainbow flags outside Government Buildings are nice but what we actually want to see is progress on LGBT rights. I could come have in here and given the same speech I gave last year. I could have said exactly the same, because we have not made progress. If the Minister does not believe me, she should believe ILGA-Europe, which is holding its conference in Dublin this year. It ranks every European country on LGBT human rights and policy protections. It has ranked Ireland 14th year after year and has told us we are not making progress on this crucial issue. If the Minister needs to know what needs to be done, she should have a look at the policy platforms set out by the Social Democrats. We have listed the LGBT rights that need to be progressed.”
“We can look at what other countries have done and implement it here. We do not have to keep waiting. We should not keep waiting and we should demand more. Assisted human reproduction was mentioned. It has been 20 years since the Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction produced its report. Twenty years we have been waiting. The Minister said we will have legislation this term. Does she mean before the Dáil recess? We need to know exactly when. Families are waiting to have their rights vindicated and the gaps in family law closed. We need to know when that legislation will be before the Dáil because we have waited far too long. The disregard legislation was mentioned. It has still not been enacted and we are still waiting for it to happen. It should have happened 33 years ago when the State decriminalised homosexuality.”
“We could be ending HIV transmissions in this decade if we would just commit to putting in the services, doing the rapid testing and rolling out pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP. We know what needs to be done but the Government is not committing to doing it. It is deeply frustrating to have members of the Government come into the House and call these achievements when the Government is utterly failing to make progress on crucial issues. Conversion practices were mentioned. There was a commitment in the 2020 programme for Government to ban conversion practices. That is six years ago. The Minister spoke about taking time but how much time does she need? It has been six years since the Government committed to a ban. Eight other countries in Europe have done. We do not have to reinvent the wheel here.”
“How can a Minister of State stand in the Dáil and call that an achievement and say there is progress on it when the lived reality for trans, non-binary and intersex people in this country is awful in terms of accessing basic healthcare? Similarly, the Minister spoke about progress in terms of the community service fund. That has existed for many years now. It is basic funding to provide basic services, but it is not enough. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the need. The Minister of State mentioned progress on HIV and while the campaign is certainly good, the Government has given up on its target of ending HIV transmissions by 2030. It has admitted it is not going to get there. That is not an achievement. We are missing the mark.”
“I too welcome everyone in the Gallery, including many former colleagues of mine who work in LGBT organisations across the country. They do phenomenal work every single day supporting people in the community. I thank them for their work; it is greatly appreciated. Pride is an important time of year and a very good celebration. It is also a protest and a time to call for progress. Sadly, we have not seen the kind of progress we need to see on these crucial issues. Sometimes when I listen to the speeches of Government Ministers I think I live in a different country. It was painful to listen to the speech by the Minister of State in which she described as one of the achievements progress on trans healthcare. We have the worst trans healthcare in all of Europe.”
“I urge the Minister of State to engage with that report and the recommendations and progress the reforms needed because people deserve access to good quality public dental care. The least people should get in this Republic is access to good quality healthcare, particularly children, medical card holders and others who have been failed and failed by successive governments. The time for reform is now. I urge the Minister of State to listen to what we are saying and prioritise this issue because together, by working with the health committee and the recommendations we put forward, we can make real progress on this issue. However, it needs to become more of a priority for the Minister of State, her Department, her officials and the Minister.”
“The reforms to the dental Act that are needed have not been progressed. I say this all the time when we have statements the House; we could be progressing reforms to legislation, including the dental Act. I have real concerns about the school screening programme and the number of children who are being absolutely failed, are not getting the appointments they need and are being completely neglected. We heard at the health committee that in some cases, people are driving themselves to their first screening when they should have been screened in primary school. It is not good enough. It is utterly unacceptable. I urge the Minister of State and the Minister to get a grasp on this issue. For our part, the health committee has set out a series of recommendations. We have laid out clearly exactly what needs to be done step by step.”
“A 2023 UK General Dental Council evaluation paper found no evidence of patient safety concerns associated with direct access to dental hygienists and therapist practices when their defined scope and appropriate referral pathways are in place. I met with the Irish Dental Hygienists Association earlier this year and it did excellent work in putting forward a case for direct access. Patients should have the option of accessing care from dental hygienists without needing to see a dentist first. Advancing this practical and evidence-based reform should not be put on the long finger any longer. It is a key reform and it will help dentists, patients and the public at large. The Government is not doing enough here. It is not investing enough. The issue is not being prioritised.”
“In the context of the national oral health policy's aims to move from an outdated curative care model to a prevention first model, direct access from dental hygienists is particularly important. The Minister of State has already said that work is under way to develop a policy paper on direct access for dental hygienists. This needs to be accelerated. Unnecessary barriers to direct access must be removed. Allowing direct access for dental hygienists will increase capacity, enable earlier interventions, reduce waiting times and allow dentists to focus on more complex and high-need care. This is already in place in the UK.”
“It is unacceptable in the current scheme that the number of fillings per year is limited but the number of extractions is not. As a result, people are having teeth removed when they could have had fillings and prevention. This is not the proactive, preventative type of care that should be provided in our public dental scheme. This scheme is a relic of the 1990s. It is no longer fit for purpose. We need modernisation and mere modification will not be enough. The scheme must be completely modernised. In the health committee's dental report, we also called for the development of a strategic workforce plan not just for dentists but for allied dental healthcare professionals. We also recommended that the roles of those dental health professionals should be expanded, allowing direct access without the need for referral.”
“The concerns we have do not just extend to children; they also extend to adults on the medical card and medical card patients. Under the medical card scheme, private dentists are contracted by the HSE to provide services to medical card patients but this scheme is haemorrhaging dentists and medical card patients are paying the price. In 2015, there were around 1,600 dentists participating in the scheme but, by last year, that had halved to 800. The scheme is no longer fit for purpose and the health committee, in our report, called on the Minister to enter immediate talks with the Irish Dental Association to replace it with a new scheme, one that allows dentists to provide medical card patients with the best care and not just emergency care.”
“We are seeing a fall in the number. Despite what the Minister of State may talk about, investment in services and the number of dentists working in the public dental scheme is dropping. We need to make public dentistry an attractive option for dentists. That includes the development of new and attractive public dental contracts to support the public model. Outsourcing children's dental services to the private market is not the answer. Scaling up the public service is. That should be a priority and it should be a matter of real concern to the Minister of State that we have children in the State who are entitled to these screenings who are missing them. It being half of the eligible population, it is really utterly unacceptable.”
“Check-up targets have been missed on a massive scale. In 2023, only half of the eligible population of children were screened. Half of the children who were entitled to this completely missed the screening. This is really important screening to check on children and it just being missed. They are being completely failed and neglected and it is utterly unacceptable. We urgently need the strategic workforce plan, as recommended by the health committee. We need to know what the capacity requirements of a school screening programme are if it is to deliver a service that actually works for people. At present, the Department simply does not know how many public dentists are needed. All we know is that we do not have enough, and that the number of public dentists delivering the dental scheme has dropped by 30 since 2012.”
“There was an unregistered dentist offered dental treatments, including X-rays, from the sitting room of an apartment in central Dublin. Three unregistered dentists were operating pop-up clinics in Munster and Connacht. These are the kinds of patient safety issues we have here - people convicted of sexual assault practicing of dentists; clinics in apartments across the State; and unregistered dentists. We need regulatory reform that is supported by both the regulator and the regulated. In regard to children's dental services, children should be screened three times before leaving primary school but some children are not being seen until transition year. If that is not a failing on behalf of the State, I do not know what is. This is because of understaffing and under-resourcing of the school screening programme.”
“There had been no progress, according to the report produced across the parties, including Government members of the joint committee. In fact, the situation has gotten worse and not better. Children are leaving primary school without being screened. The medical card scheme is haemorrhaging dentists. The laws governing dentistry are over 40 years old and they are putting the public at risk. The Dental Council of Ireland has been calling for a new Act and additional powers since 2008. It urgently needs powers to investigate, enter and inspect dental practices. Here are just some examples of instances in which it has not got the powers to act. There was an unregistered person convicted of sexual assault practicing as a dentist.”
“We have been told for many months that it was coming to the end. We would like to know exactly when the Minister intends to publish that. We have been waiting, as I said, since 2019 for this. I do not think it is unreasonable to give the Dáil a final date on when that implementation plan will be published. On the Oireachtas health committee's report, which was published previously, this followed engagement with stakeholders. The health committee published its report on dental services back in April. This report included 19 recommendations, with the first three all relating to implementation of that 2019 plan. We found there had been no noticeable improvement in dental services since 2019. There was no noticeable improvement over a seven-year period.”
“This is now seven years after the plan was put in place that we were still waiting for the implementation plan. The implementation has been described as imminent since 2024. We are led to believe that this implementation plan will finally be published this year. However, in January, the Minister said it was at an advanced stage, while in April, she said her goal was to publish it in the coming weeks. It is now the end of June and we still do not have that implementation plan for a policy that was published seven years ago - back in 2019. If that does not tell you how much of a priority this issue is for the Government, I do not know what will. In the Minister of State's speech this evening, she said it is currently being finalised. I would ask the Minister of State, in her closing address, to give us a solid timeline.”
“On Smile agus Sláinte, in 2019 the oral health policy did not set out a roadmap for the practical delivery of its vision. It was developed without proper consultation with dentists and allied healthcare professionals. In 2024, the former president of the Irish Dental Association, IDA, Dr. Eamon Croke, said that the 2019 policy "was launched from behind a veil of secrecy". While Dr. Croke said that the IDA may share and support many of the 2019 plans and their aspirations, the Department of Health had yet to articulate how its vision would be enacted, a situation that prevails to this day. In January of this year, the Department of Health told the health committee that a three-year implementation plan to progress phase 1 of the 2019 plan was in development.”
“In the years between 2001 and 2017, aside from one mention of community water fluoridation, oral health did not feature in any of the national healthcare policy documents. That only changed with the publication of Sláintecare. Then, in 2019, a new oral health policy was finally published, Smile agus Sláinte, 25 years after Ireland's first and only dental policy plan had been published. What we see over the period and the history of the State is neglect of this area and a failure to plan and put policies in place. Even sometimes when policies are formed, there is a failure to implement, prioritise, publish and resource them. It is not just the current Government that is failing on this; there is a track record of failure from successive Governments that have led us to the state we are in today.”
“There is a long history here of dysfunction when it comes to oral health policy in the State. Successive Governments have utterly neglected public dental services. The first clear statement of the State's aims and objectives for dental services was first published in 1994. That was called the dental health action plan. That plan led to the development of the dental treatment service scheme for medical card holders but it would take a quarter of a century for another dental policy to be published. In 2007, the then Minister for Health, the former Deputy Mary Harney, announced the development of a new oral health policy and although a draft plan was presented to the Minister in 2009, it was never published.”