The Irish Dental Association (IDA) today welcomes indications of additional funding announced in Budget 2027 for children’s dental services under the proposed two-year Oral Health Action Plan. This follows sustained advocacy by the IDA and engagement with the Department of Health, the Minister for Health and the HSE on the need to bolster and reform publicly funded dental services in Ireland.

While the Action Plan is yet to be finalised and published, the Association believes it is vital that any final plan and broader reforms are shaped by intensive engagement with the IDA in representing those dentists who deliver day-to-day oral health care.

The IDA believes that the overall scale of reform and further investment required in dental services is significant and urgent. Nobody can underestimate the scale of the work ahead after two decades of neglect of oral health. We commend the Minister for Health for securing Government support to prioritise oral health reforms.

The Association will be bringing its own set of priorities for reform in the interests of patients and dentists, and we look forward to bringing our own viable, sustainable and credible policy solutions to the table.

Responding to commitments to improve access to oral health services for children in Budget 2027, IDA President Dr Bridget Harrington-Barry said:

“We welcome the level of interest and engagement with the dental profession shown by Minister for Health, Dr Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and both Department of Health and HSE officials in recent months. Today’s commitment to improve access to dental care for children is what we hope will be the first step in a reversal of two decades of cuts in funding oral health and a long overdue focus on funding, capacity and accessibility of dental services across Ireland.

“It is vital that any policy change takes place in consultation with dental practitioners who feel a deep sense of frustration with the status quo. Our members uniformly believe that any new oral health policy framework must be both viable and sustainable for patients and dentists alike.”