Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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666. To ask the Minister for Health the initiatives that he is planning, to increase the number of occupational therapists and speech and language therapists qualifying on an annual basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48402/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Health and Social Care workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of suitably qualified healthcare professionals in Ireland is a top priority for the Government. 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.

Department of Health officials engage on an ongoing basis with colleagues in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we train enough graduates with the skills necessary to support the delivery of health and social care services and to develop a strategic approach to workforce planning for the health sector.

There are ongoing discussions between both Departments in relation to increasing domestic supply of health and Social Care graduates in the short term to medium term through the immediate provision of additional places, and the longer-term planning being undertaken around future skills needs in context of future demand for health and social care services. These additional places are being targeted in areas of acute skills need including occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.