Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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97. To ask the Minister for Health if she will immediately lift the pay and numbers strategy to ensure that all health services can be staffed to safe and adequate levels; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10163/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The HSE’s annual Pay and Numbers Strategy (PNS) sets out the HSE's recruitment targets and staffing ceilings each year. These recruitment targets reflect the service commitments outlined in the HSE’s annual National Service Plan, and include the significant increase in funding received by the HSE as part of the last Estimates process.

Budget 2025 provided €11.7 billion in pay funding for the HSE. This is €1.4 billion more than the 2024 Budget, and represents a 14.9% increase in payroll funding alone. This additional funding allows the HSE to significantly increase the number of Department of Health funded staff it can recruit during 2025. The current PNS includes provision to increase staffing up to 133,306 WTE staff (Whole Time Equivalents), which is an additional 3,554 WTE in 2025.

This increase is in addition to, the very large, 25,200 increase in staffing in our Health service since January 2020. Over the last five years, the HSE has increased its health workforce by:

• 9,248 more nurses and midwives;
• 3,751 more health and social care professionals; and
• 3,678 more doctors and dentists.

Given the increase in staffing numbers provided for as part of Budget 2025, in addition to the investment in workforce growth over the last 5 years, there are no plans to change the PNS.