DUP Leader Gavin Robinson MP has welcomed an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union on dental supplies for Northern Ireland.
“I am glad that common sense has prevailed and that a durable and workable arrangement has been reached,” Mr Robinson said.
The agreement means the Department of Health (DoH) has secured an exemption from the EU’s new mercury regulations.
The EU is banning mercury metal-based fillings (dental amalgam) in dentistry on 1 January 2025.
The Windsor Framework meant the ban would have applied to Northern Ireland but dentists here argued that they were unprepared to work without dental amalgam and patients could be left without care.
Mr Robinson said this was an important issue for the DUP.
“From the earliest days of this government, we have been raising Northern Ireland’s access to dental amalgam supplies as a matter of urgency,” he said.
Mr Robinson also said the party pressured the UK government to negotiate with the EU.
“Last week, we warned the Northern Ireland Secretary of State that in the absence of a suitable agreement with Brussels, we would not hesitate to draw upon the new mechanisms at our disposal in Stormont to protect our dental sector and its supply chain.
“The safeguards we secured have played a significant role in bringing London and Brussels to this place,” he said.
He is eager to ensure regulations in NI are the same as those in the UK.
“It is now important that the Democratic Scrutiny Committee in Stormont has the time and space to fully explore this derogation. We must ensure that it protects our supply chain and ensures there is no divergence in the dental sector within the United Kingdom.”
The TUV believes the agreement highlights Northern Ireland’s ‘colonial status’
“Anyone who just reads the document published by the EU will see how much our EU masters are in control of what happens in relation to this issue. Everything is highly conditioned by our colonial masters in Brussels.
“They are clear that they will “monitor on an ongoing basis the application of the amendments introduced by Regulation” and dictate the conditions attached to their decision,” party leader, Jim Allister said.
“No other part of the UK would accept such an edict and no democrat should accept it as any sort of victory,” he added.