Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, we have the pilot of in-school therapists in Dublin, Cork and Galway being rolled out. He is absolutely correct about recruitment and the need to ensure we are recruiting. We have recruitment efforts across the HSE, section 38 and section 39 organisations to on-board staff and have sustained outreach and engagement, for example, with secondary schools and higher education institutions to expose more students to the rewarding and impactful nature of working in the disability services and CDNTs. Seven of the disciplines working on our CDNTs have been included on the critical skills occupation list, enabling non-EEA nationals to be eligible for a work permit. Also, on further supported service provision, there is ongoing development of additional disciplines to expand the skills mix and applicant pools, including development of the role of health and social care therapy assistant in 2024. In addition, practice education placements in CDNTs continue to be increased, alongside expanding the number of places in higher education to make sure we have the pipeline of therapists coming through.

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