‘Greyhounds get better State dental care than children’
€50 dog grant branded ‘outrageous’ as children left waiting
GREYHOUNDS are getting better dental treatment from the State than children, the head of the group representing the country’s dentists has said.
Fintan Hourihan said it is ‘beyond a joke’ that the Government has admitted that greyhounds are entitled to a €50 grant to have their teeth fixed, while children are left waiting, for up to 10 years in some areas, for dental treatment.
The Irish Dental Association chief said on social media this week: ‘This week we learned that while the Government may not be very interested in helping children or
‘Some children can’t get check-up till they are 16’
adults access dental care, there’s an extra €50 per greyhound for any dental care needed. You just couldn’t make this up.’
Mr Hourihan was responding to a Public Accounts Committee meeting where Greyhound Racing Ireland’s head vet revealed that dogs are in receipt of nearly €500,000 per year from the Exchequer for health checks.
William Fitzgerald told the Dáil spending watchdog: ‘Assistance comes on a number of levels. Preparing the greyhounds to be rehomed involves a number of facets. The first of these is getting the dog neutered. A contribution of €50 per greyhound is made towards this. There is also a contribution towards the cost of vaccinations and preparing health checks of the greyhounds to the amount of €80 per greyhound.
‘Since the beginning of February this year there is an additional €50 per greyhound for any dental work required.’ Mr Hourihan described the spending on dogs’ dental care, when put alongside the massive waiting lists for children, as ‘outrageous’. He pointed out that children are supposed to receive free dental treatment from the HSE in second, fourth and sixth class while they are in primary school. But he says the reality is that this is not happening, with many children now being offered just a single visit during their entire school career.
And even then, many are being forced to wait until they are in secondary school.
Mr Hourihan told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘This means that some children are not receiving an initial check-up until they are 16 years of age, and are, therefore, missing out on vital early intervention, resulting in more drastic treatment or, in the worst cases, extractions being required during the formative teenage and early adult years.
‘I am aware this has happened in Laois and Offaly, to name two counties. Children were not seen until second and, in some cases, transition year.’
Mr Hourihan added that understaffing and a lack of resources in the public dental service is to blame for the huge delays.
The number of public-only dentists has dropped by a quarter (23%) in the past 15 years, decreasing from 330 in 2006 to 254 in 2022. This means the HSE needs to hire 76 dentists now just to bring the service back to 2007 levels.
The lack of HSE dentists is also impacting on the delivery of care to other vulnerable patients, including those with special care needs and those waiting on essential public orthodontic treatment.
The waiting lists for treatments requiring general anaesthetic are two years long.
Dentists say they are being forced to choose which children are in the most pain and treat them ahead of those who may have already been waiting for months or years.
The Irish Dental Association said this, in turn, is leading to high levels of stress and burnout among HSE dentists. The HSE did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Two-year wait for work with general anaesthetic’