Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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390. To ask the Minister for Health the progress to date in increasing the future supply of healthcare workers across all disciplines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30780/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Building a sustainable health and social care workforce is a top priority for the Government. At the end of May 2024, there are 148,159 WTE directly employed in the provision of Health & Social Care Services by the HSE and Section 38 hospitals & agencies. This is 28,346 more WTE working in our health service than there were at the beginning of 2020, representing a 24% increase in this period which includes an additional 9,504 nurses and midwives; 4,250 health and social care professionals; and 3,105 doctors and dentists.

The number of practising doctors per 1,000 persons in Ireland has steadily grown from 2013 to 2021. Ireland has approximately 4 practising doctors per 1000 inhabitants. This is in line with the OECD average. For every 1,000 people in Ireland, there are approximately 12.73 practising nurses (figure includes midwives who have dual registration but indicated to be a practising nurse). This is above the EU average.

My department works in close collaboration with Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Higher Education Sector to significantly increase the number of student places across health-related disciplines.

In June 2022, an agreement was reached with the Irish Medical Schools which will see the number of Irish/EU medicine student places increase by 200 by 2026.

Over the period 2014 to 2021 first-year nursing places in Irish Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) grew from 1,570 to 2,032– an increase of almost 30%. DOH has worked with the Department of Further and Higher Education to significantly increase the number of undergraduate training places in nursing and midwifery for the academic year 2023/2024.

Over 660 additional student places have been provided in the Higher Education Sector on health-related courses in the academic year 2023/24. This includes approximately 220 student places across Nursing and Midwifery and Allied Health Professions in Northern Ireland.

In addition, an agreement has been reached between Queen’s University Belfast, Department of Health, and the Department of Further and Higher Education, which will see 25 additional medical places being made available for qualifying students from Ireland or Northern Ireland in QUB in September 2024, and a further twenty-five places in September 2025 bringing the total number of additional medicine student places available in Northern Ireland to 50.

The Department is working with HSE National Office for HSCPs, to develop a governance framework for clinical placements for HSCPs to support the expansion of student places in 2024 and future years.

Further work is underway to continue to increase the domestic supply of doctors, nurses and health and social care professionals.