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

A children’s disability network team workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the current workforce across the 93 CDNTs. While this report only provides us with a snapshot in time, with recruitment having continued in the interim, it is the most comprehensive workforce report we have on CDNTs.

The report was published on the HSE website earlier this year and is available to download. It indicated a wide disparity in the number of vacant and unfilled positions across the country, with the highest number in the Dublin and south east region at 144 unfilled whole-time equivalents. The number of vacancies in the Dublin and north east region, which was 125 whole-time equivalents, and the Dublin and midlands region, which was 112 whole-time equivalents, is also high. There were 65 unfilled WTEs in the south west region, 56 in the west and north west region and 26 in the mid-west region as of mid-October.

The HSE is currently using the data from this report to support focused recruitment and retention initiatives in the areas with the highest vacancy rates, taking learning and related actions from areas with lower levels of vacancies. The HSE has also advised that a survey for another CDNT workforce report is being undertaken and it expects the data to be available for that in the coming months.

It is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made in recent years regarding CDNT recruitment. The October data indicates that the CDNT workforce increased by 17% in 2024 when compared with the 2023 figure. This represents an additional 272 whole-time equivalent staff working across CDNTs. Within those on-boarded, the largest growth was in health and social care professionals, accounting for 204 of the 272 staff.

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