Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

732. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 1298 of 21 March 2021, if the current intake quota for student nurses at third-level is due to limits on the number of clinical placements that can be facilitated by the health service; the predicted demand for additional nurses for the next ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22246/21]

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

775. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 1298 of 21 March 2021, the quotas for nursing students in each of the years since 2006, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22215/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 732 and 775 together.

The information requested by the Deputy on the quota for nursing students is available in the attached table. The figures are available from 2011 onwards as that is when funding for undergraduate nursing transferred to the HEA. The quota on EU nursing places is set by the Department of Health/HSE and any increases to the quota (as happened in 2016/17 and 2017/18) are at the request of the Department of Health/ and HSE.

The limits on the intake is due primarily to the cost of funding nursing education, and the limitations on the number of clinical placements that can be facilitated. 

As we move to a population-based healthcare delivery model, this will affect the predicted workforce supply and requirement into the future. Allocating resources according to a population’s health and social care needs will enable more integrated, equitable care that can be more clearly linked to health outcomes and reducing health inequalities, and to value-for-money assessment. 

In line with a population health approach championed in the Sláintecare Implementation Strategy and advocated for by the Oireachtas Sláintecare Report 2017, a blueprint for the development of a Sláintecare Citizen Care Masterplan (CCMP) is being finalised. The CCMP aims to inform policy decision-making around equitable allocation of resources of all types. The CCMP will consist of population-based health needs assessment and segmentation exercises. This information will inform the further development of frameworks for resource allocation, including workforce planning.

Quota for EU nursing students in Ireland, 2011 - 2020

*The 2020/21 figures do not include any additional places sanctioned as a result of the calculated grades process.