Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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113. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the disproportional number of places offered on QQI level 5 pre-nursing courses and the places dedicated to students coming from these routes on level 8 nursing degrees; his plans to rectify the imbalance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6385/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Higher Education Institutions are autonomous bodies within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006, and the Technological Universities Act 2018. As such, they are entitled to determine the number of places offered in a course under any particular entry route, including places for PLC students and it is not within my remit to determine how many such places are offered. The number of places reserved for students applying on the basis of a PLC qualification is published on the CAO website at the following link:

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 engaging with the Department of Health in relation to health workforce planning to ensure the effective delivery of skilled personnel into the future.

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.