Dental services 'on brink of collapse' warns Donegal Councillor

Colr. Farren said it was shocking that children are being left behind as the staffing crisis deepens, as he called for greater public investment and for dental training capacity to be increased.

His comments follow data released by the HSE to Labour’s Health spokesperson, Marie Sherlock TD, showing a 38.4% drop in the number of dentists taking part in the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) over five years.

The DTSS provides free dental services to adults over 16 years with a medical card.

Colr. Farren is calling for urgent government action to rescue services, particularly for children and medical card holders.

“Dental care is becoming increasingly inaccessible, especially for those with the least means,” he warned.

“In Inishowen, I hear regularly from parents who cannot get dental appointments for their children, or from older residents who simply cannot afford to go private. The cost of going to the dentist is prohibitive for many looking for timely treatment. No longer are people just terrified of the procedure, they’re also terrified of the cost.”

Colr. Farren claimed public dental services were being “whittled away” in favour of private provision.

"This is leaving those with lower incomes behind,” he said. "The HSE West and North West Areas have only 42 dentists of their own The number of Private Dentists with Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) contracts, in Donegal, was 55, in 2020, but is down to 43, in 2025.

“Country-wide, the number of dentists on the DTSS has dropped from 1,354 in 2019 to just 833 today. Those who remain say they can no longer take on new patients due to capacity.

"It’s no wonder people are falling through the cracks.”

Colr. Farren added that the number of children receiving scheduled dental assessments has also dropped. “By the time those children get picked up, the result is widespread decay and high levels of extractions. Orthodontic issues are going unnoticed and untreated, leading to far more complex and costly interventions later in life. All of this is avoidable,” he said.

“It’s long past time we expanded the range of benefits available through PRSI to reflect the real cost of dental care today.

“We urgently need renewed investment in public dental care and we need to increase the number of dental training places at our universities to future-proof the system. The longer we delay, the more pain and preventable illness we store up, especially for the most vulnerable in Inishowen and across Ireland.

“Unless there is decisive action, I am deeply concerned that we will see even more dentists leaving the DTSS and more patients being left to suffer in silence.”

“We in Labour are calling on the Government to take immediate action to rescue our public dental system, starting with new investment, better staffing, and a fairer PRSI scheme.

“People in Inishowen deserve access to timely, affordable dental care and Labour will continue to fight for that right.”