Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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663. To ask the Minister for Health if her attention has been drawn to the disparity that exists between the pay of diagnostic radiography tutors, when compared to colleagues in other allied health professions (details supplied); if she will take steps to address this discrepancy in pay scales for clinical tutors; if so, the timeline for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28800/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Thank you to the Deputy for raising this question and I would like to thank all Practice Tutors for the important work they carry out in supporting the education and training of new graduates.

I am glad to advise that work is currently underway in the Department of Health, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Higher Education Institutions to increase the number of student places across health and social care professions including radiography. All HSCP educational programmes require a combination of academic teaching and clinical practice placements. The Department of Health and HSE have been working to ensure the availability of clinical placements to support the expansion in HSCP training places. My department is supporting the HSE to implement the clinical infrastructure to support the practice education of undergraduate HSCP students.

It is important to note that the pay of public service workers, including the pay of Radiographer Practice Tutors, is governed by public service pay policy and the terms of the current Public Service Agreement 2024-2026.