Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There was an announcement yesterday about a significant expansion in third level places, which will lead to more doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and vets being trained. That is welcome, but how many additional places will be created in occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, psychiatry, psychology and physiotherapy? There is a chronic shortage in these professions, particularly among children's disability network teams, CDNTs, where there is a 34% vacancy rate across all community healthcare organisations, CHOs, and a 64% rate on some teams. There are also shortages in primary care and on child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, teams. I hope that the absence of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, from the announcement does not mean that college places for these professions have not been included.

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