Upgrades at ‘barely fit for purpose’ Cork dental school

Significant refurbishment works to the University College Cork (UCC) dental school and upgrades to its equipment are under way.

It comes as the Irish Dental Association has expressed concern that the current facility is not fit for purpose.

The chief executive of the association, Fintan Hourihan, said in the Dáil last week that they estimate up to 500 new dentists are needed to meet demand across the public and private sectors.

“We have concerns as to the plans for the Cork dental school,” said Mr Hourihan. “It may be known there were plans to build an entirely new dental school in Cork. 

"In fact, it was supposed to be completed in 2023, but this appears to have been abandoned.

“We believe that it has effectively been decided not to proceed with that plan. A school was to be built on a new site in Cork, which would mean that the existing school on the CUH campus would be given over and developed for medical purposes.”

He said this was “extremely disappointing” as “the existing dental school in Cork is barely fit for purpose. It requires significant funds to bring it up to appropriate and acceptable standards.”

College is working with the Government to address concerns

A UCC spokesperson told The Echo: “The university is working with Government departments and the Higher Education Authority to address concerns that had been raised about dental training infrastructure and capacity.

“Meanwhile, significant refurbishment works are under way on UCC’s dental school and hospital on the CUH campus. 

"Significant upgrades to the equipment are also well under way. Positive discussions are ongoing regarding a proposal to establish a dental outreach facility on the northside of Cork city.”

The university recently sought funding to establish the centre in Blackpool, which would increase the number of dentistry students admitted from 50 to 60. 

Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said in the Dáil last week that her department received a proposal from UCC requesting €4.7m in capital funding for the project, and that UCC was advised to submit the proposal to the HSE for evaluation.

“While the proposal is promising, it currently delivers limited increases in domestic student places,” she said.

She said that discussions are ongoing to try to progress the proposal with a view to maximising both Irish and EU places to enhance workforce capacity.