David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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24. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for increasing university places which feed into the health sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35502/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department, the HEA and the higher education institutions are committed to supporting the provision of graduates for the health service through undergraduate and postgraduate provision. In this regard, my Department continues to engage with the Department of Health in relation to health workforce planning to ensure the effective delivery of skilled personnel into the future.

In 2020, in response to the extraordinary circumstances faced by Leaving Certificate students, and in order to offset the particular pressures faced by these students, I ensured that more than 2,225 additional places on high-demand higher education courses were made available in the higher education system. These included additional places in nursing, medicine, pharmacy and a number of other health-related courses.

In light of high number of CAO applications this year, and the pressures faced by the Leaving Certificate students of 2021, my officials are working with the HEA and the higher education institutions to identify where there is scope for additional places to be provided for the 2021/2022 academic year. However there are real, material limits on the number of places in healthcare courses that can be provided due to the need to facilitate clinical placements for these students. My officials are engaging with the Department of Health on this in order to determine where there is capacity for additional placements for healthcare students within the health services.

The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I will continue to engage to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.