Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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570. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated annual cost to the Exchequer of doubling the number of speech and language therapy training places in third level; and the cost of doubling the number of occupational training places in third level. [38892/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous institutions responsible for their own academic affairs including the curriculum and student numbers on individual courses. The costs incurred by a HEI in increasing student places on a particular course or establishing an additional course can vary depending on a variety factors including the type of course and the individual circumstances of the relevant HEI.

Where additionally is required on courses or a new course is required, specific engagement with the sector and external stakeholders is very often required. This process allows for a deeper consideration of wider issues such as capacity, staffing, other supports, availability of placements, capital investment in buildings and equipment etc. It is therefore, not possible to definitively calculate the costs sought in the absence of a specific engagement with the sector.

The delivery of healthcare programmes is complex and requires multiple parts of the health and education systems working together.

It should be noted that in recent years there has been a substantial expansion of therapy and key healthcare places in Higher Education Institutions in Ireland. In July, Government approved the prioritisation of funding to support the expansion of training places in priority healthcare areas including Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy, as well as Physiotherapy.

From September this year additional places on Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy programmes in University of Galway have been created, and an undergraduate Occupational Therapy programme is also being introduced at University of Limerick. Further expansion next year will result in an overall 35% increase in places on therapy discipline programmes.

Additionality has been delivered in recent years with over 460 permanent new higher education healthcare places created in September 2023 in Irish HEIs, and further capacity created in Northern Ireland, where an additional 80 places in allied healthcare disciplines in Ulster University in September 2023 were created for students from this jurisdiction. These places include 28 in Occupational Therapy and 10 in Speech and Language Therapy. A similar arrangement is in train for September 2024.

Enhancing student capacity to meet projected workforce demand is a key consideration of workforce planning and is key to enabling further expansion on these programmes. Practice education placements are essential to support clinical skills development and the application of theory to patient care and attainment of regulatory required standards of proficiency where applicable.

Extensive engagement is ongoing between officials in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and officials in the Department of Health, as well as the HSE and higher education sector. Work is underway on the oversight and infrastructure for clinical placements to enable further expansion.