David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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265. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved degree course places, first year intake and final year graduates, graduate output, for counselling and psychotherapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60912/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Data on new entrants and graduates from all courses in social work and counselling between from 2016 to 2020 are available in the table below. These course types share an ISCED classification and therefore are grouped together and reported together for statistical purposes. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only while undergraduate graduates refer to both full-time and part-time students.. There is no quota placed on these courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy.

The data below is take from the HEA's Student Records System, and therefore includes students enrolled in HEA-funded institutions only. There are a number of courses in counselling and psychotherapy provided by private higher education providers.

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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266. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake and final year graduates, graduate output for nursing and midwifery in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60919/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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267. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake and final year graduates, graduate output, for nursing and midwifery in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing postgraduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60920/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 266 and 267 together.

Data on new entrants to and graduates from nursing and midwifery courses between from 2016 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only while undergraduate graduate figures include both full and part-time students. The postgraduate data refers to postgraduate clinical and scientific courses offered by the schools of nursing, many of which are undertaken by existing medical professionals seeking further training or specialisation.

The intake quota for EU entrants to undergraduate nursing and midwifery stands at 1,819. The current quotas for entry are under review as part of my Department’s ongoing engagements with the Department of Health regarding health workforce planning.

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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268. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake and final year graduates, graduate output, for medicine in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60921/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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269. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for the various medical fields in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing postgraduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60922/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 269 together.

Data on new entrants to and graduates from medicine courses between from 2016 to 2020 are available in the table below. The undergraduate data refers to entrants to medicine courses, including graduate entry medicine. The postgraduate data refers to clinical and scientific courses offered by the schools of medicine, many of which are undertaken by existing medical professionals seeking further training or specialisation.

The current quota for EU entrants (including Irish entrants) to medicine stands at 708, divided between undergraduate entry (468) and graduate entry (240). This quota was established as a recommendation of the Report of the Working Group on Undergraduate Medical Education and Training, also known as the Fottrell Report. The current quotas for entry to medicine are under review as part of my Department’s ongoing engagements with the Department of Health regarding health workforce planning.

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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270. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for psychology and occupational therapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60923/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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271. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for psychology and occupational therapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60924/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 and 271 together.

Data on new entrants and graduates from all Psychology and Occupational Therapy courses between from 2017 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only. There is no quota placed on occupational therapy or psychology courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to need to provide clinical placements involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto occupational therapy courses.

There is a discrepancy in new entrant and graduate figures in occupational therapy, with a higher number of graduates from undergraduate courses than there are new entrants for that cohort. This is due to a partnership between Trinity College Dublin and Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore. Students from Nanyang Polytechnic complete three years of their degree in their home institution, and the final year in Trinity College. They are therefore counted among the graduates for that year, but never appear in the new entrant figures.

The data below is take from the HEA's Student Records System, and therefore includes students enrolled in HEA-funded institutions.

Table 1: Psychology

Table 2: Occupational Therapy

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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272. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for speech and language therapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60925/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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273. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for speech and language therapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60926/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 272 and 273 together.

Data on new entrants and graduates from all physiotherapy related courses between from 2017 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only. There is no quota placed on speech and language therapy by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to need to provide clinical placements involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto speech and language therapy courses.

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for physiotherapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60927/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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275. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for physiotherapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60928/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together.

Data on new entrants and graduates from all physiotherapy related courses between from 2017 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only. There is no quota placed on physiotherapy by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to need to provide clinical placements involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto physiotherapy courses.

There is a discrepancy in new entrant and graduate figures, with a higher number of graduates from undergraduate courses than there are new entrants for that cohort. This is due to a partnership between Trinity College Dublin and Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore. Students from Nanyang Polytechnic complete three years of their degree in their home institution, and the final year in Trinity College. They are therefore counted among the graduates for that year, but never appear in the new entrant figures.

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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276. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved undergraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental technology in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60929/21]

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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277. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of approved postgraduate places, first year intake, and final year graduates, graduate output, for dentistry, dental hygiene, and dental technology in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60930/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 276 and 277 together.

Data on new entrants, total enrolments and graduates from all dental studies related courses between from 2016 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only. There is no quota placed on dental courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to the high level of practical work involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto dentistry courses.

The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.