Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he has been contacted by the HSE or Department of Health officials with concerns in relation to recruitment issues within their disability teams that they are advising are as a consequence of a lack of suitable candidates graduating from third-level institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6170/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. 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 officials are actively engaging with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders 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.

The Department is also represented on the interdepartmental Working Group which is currently tasked with development of an Action Plan for Disability Services for the 2022-2025 period. It is anticipated that this action plan will be published in the coming weeks. My Department will work with the HSE and the Department of Health to progress actions regarding workforce planning in the health sector.