Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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2832. To ask the Minister for Health the details of all primary care posts, including discipline, grade basic, senior or principal grade and contract type, fixed term or permanent, in each health region which were de-activated due to being vacant on 31 December 2023, as directed by the Pay and Numbers Strategy. [42246/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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2833. To ask the Minister for Health the details of recruitment to the primary care child and adolescent services of the north Lee HSE catchment of the south west regional health area from January 2023 to July 2025 for the disciplines of occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology; the date each post was advertised; the contract type that is, temporary or permanent; the grade of post staff, senior or principal; if the post was accepted or not; if the post was delayed from being filled or eliminated by the Pay and Numbers Strategy; the clear details of any delays; the staffing provision for each discipline at the end of each year from 2022; and the population size served by the north Lee HSE catchment. [42247/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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2834. To ask the Minister for Health the details of recruitment to the primary care child and adolescent services of the Galway HSE catchment from January 2023 to July 2025 for the disciplines of occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology; the date each post was advertised; the contract type, temporary or permanent; the grade of post that is, staff, senior or principal; if the post was accepted or not; the post was delayed from being filled or eliminated by the Pay and Numbers Strategy; the clear details of any delays; the staffing provision for each discipline at the end of each year from 2022; and the population size served by the Galway HSE catchment. [42248/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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We have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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2835. To ask the Minister for Health the details of recruitment to the primary care child and adolescent services of the Laois Offaly HSE catchment of the south west regional health area from January 2023 to July 2025 for the disciplines of occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and psychology; the date each post was advertised; the contract type that is, temporary or permanent; the grade of post staff, senior or principal; if the post was accepted or not; if the post was delayed from being filled or eliminated by the Pay and Numbers Strategy; the clear details of any delays; the staffing provision for each discipline at the end of each year from 2022; and the population size served by the Laois Offaly HSE catchment. [42249/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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2836. To ask the Minister for Health the ratio of staff to population she is aiming to achieve across primary care services for children and adolescents for the disciplines of physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and psychology, and if she has a funding commitment to back that workforce plan. [42250/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The HSE has advised that the increased pressure and demand on primary care therapy services (including physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, dietetics and psychology) is related to an increase in referrals, the increasing complexity of presentations (leading to longer interventions), and challenges related to recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals.

Recruitment and retention of Health & Social Care Professionals (HSCP), in particular, therapy professionals remain a challenge across the health, education and social care sectors.

The Government is committed to building capacity in primary care therapy services, outlined in the Programme for Government, by recruiting and retaining additional staff numbers, promoting advanced practice roles for health and social care professionals, and increasing the number of college places for health and social care professions.

Community based care is currently undergoing substantial reform in line with Sláintecare. This involves a significant re-structuring in how services are delivered to ensure that care is provided in an equitable, efficient and integrated way through newly established HSE Health Regions.

Each of the six HSE Health Regions has its own budget, leadership team and responsibility for local decision-making, with a specified number of Whole Time Equivalents (WTE) and can replace, recruit and prioritise staff within that approved number. This is giving health regions further control to focus resources where there is the greatest need.

Department of Health officials engage on an ongoing basis with colleagues in the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) 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.

In June 2025, Government approved a significant expansion in training places for Health and Social Care Professions (HSCPs), a move that will see up to 320 additional student places created in 2025 and a further 141 in subsequent years, in disciplines critical to disability, health, and education services. This immediate expansion will be in nine key HSCP areas: Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Radiography, Podiatry, Social Work, Medical Science, and Dietetics.

This represents a vital investment in the future of our health, disability, and education services. The decision follows a joint proposal arising from collaboration between Department of Health, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), Department of Children, Disability, Equality (DCDE), and Department of Education and Youth, supported by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Further work is underway with DFHERIS and other relevant Government Departments and the HEA to increase the number of student places across all health and social care professions.