Donegal’s dental crisis deepens further, as patients struggle to get appointments

Inishowen Labour County Councillor Martin Farren is warning that public dental services are on the brink of collapse, with local families being hit hard.

Data released by the HSE to Labour Health spokesperson Marie Sherlock TD reveals a shocking fall in the number of dentists taking part in the Dental Treatment Services Scheme – dropping by 38.4 per cent in just five years.

The DTSS provides free dental services to adults over 16 years with a medical card, and it is vitally important.

Moville Cllr Farren is calling for urgent government action to rescue dental services, particularly for children and medical card holders in Inishowen, and across the country.

“An analysis of the HSE data confirms what many of us already know – dental care is becoming increasingly inaccessible, especially for those with the least means,” Cllr Farren said.

“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.”

Cllr Farren says public dental services are being whittled away in favour of private provision of dental care – and this is leaving those with lower incomes behind.

“The HSE’s own figures show the scale of the collapse. 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,” he says.

There has been a drop in primary school children attending scheduled assessments of 46.2 per cent. In some areas, children are leaving primary school without having commenced their school dental treatment programmes.

“The number of children receiving scheduled dental assessments in first and second class and again in fifth and sixth has significantly dropped,” Cllr Farren warns. “In some parts of the country, sixth-class dental checks are now only being done when those children are in sixth year of secondary school. This is unacceptable.”

“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.”

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Cllr Farren blames the crisis on “poor staffing levels and a government that has taken its hands off the wheel”.

“The number of staff working in seven of the nine CHO areas has either dropped or stayed the same. We are at a standstill. And nowhere is that felt more acutely than in places like Inishowen.”

“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.”

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