Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

The Government has invested heavily in the education and training of health care personnel in order to secure a good supply of graduates to provide for the health care needs of the population into the future.

Since the establishment of the Health Service Executive, the number of speech and language therapists has increased by 215 to 712, an increase of 43%, and the number of occupational therapists has increased by 320 to 1,025, representing an increase of 45%. In addition, there are 18 more psychiatrists, excluding consultant psychiatrists with a special interest in adult learning disability, which is an increase of 42%, and a further 184 psychologists, an increase of 36%.

Training places for speech and language therapists have increased by 336% since 1997, from 25 to 109, and training places for occupational therapists have increased by 297% since 1997, from 29 to 115. Training places for clinical psychologists has increased by 396% since 1999, from 23 to 114.

In addition, there has been a steady increase in the number of higher training posts in psychiatry at senior registrar grade over the past ten years. There are currently 97 senior registrar posts approved and funded within the national higher training scheme in psychiatry, of which 28 are child and adolescent psychiatry training posts. In recent years, the Department of Health and Children has made additional funding available via the postgraduate medical and dental board to the Irish psychiatric training committee to assist in the further development of psychiatric training in Ireland.

The Government has made a major investment in these services and in the professionals who provide them. Part 2 of the Disability Act 2005 commenced for children aged under five years with effect from 1 June 2007 and entitles people with disabilities to, among other things, an independent assessment of health and education needs and a statement of the services which it is proposed to provide. The implementation of this legislation has placed additional demands on the services of health professionals.

I am aware there are waiting lists for some services and I expect the HSE to manage this in a proactive way.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The Government has also made it clear that public health and social services must be managed within the funds provided by the Oireachtas and to achieve, at a minimum, the service activity specified in the HSE's annual national service plan.

My Department is working closely with the HSE to ensure effective workforce planning into the future. A joint working group on workforce planning was established in June 2006 and includes representatives of my Department, the Departments of Finance and Education and Science, the HSE and the Higher Education Authority.

Research is being conducted by FÁS, under the auspices of the expert group on future skills needs of the labour market in health care, which aims to identify current and future shortages of health care skills. FÁS is currently undertaking a detailed analysis of 11 professions, including speech and language therapists, psychologists and medical consultants, and this study will be completed during 2008. This builds on earlier work undertaken by FÁS in 2005.

The Government is committed to identifying and enhancing the health-related support services for children and is also committed to building on the significant developments that have taken place in recent years.

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