Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

2024. To ask the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the incentives being offered by the HSE to entice people to work in disability services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47292/25]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The HSE and funded Agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting to maximum capacity in the disability sector, reflecting wider workforce pressures in the health and social care sector.

Whilst acknowledging the challenges, it is important to recognise that the disabilities workforce is growing year on year. Between December 2019 and July 2025, the workforce in HSE and Section 38 providers increased by over 20%. Most significantly, the vacancy rates in Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) have fallen from 29% in 2023 to 18% in 2025 - a reduction of 11% nationally.

While recruitment and retention of staff is a challenge across the sector overall, a significant priority for Government is filling vacancies within the 91 CDNTs.

In 2024, an Assistant National Director for the Disabilities Workforce was established to drive disability workforce initiatives. A dedicated Disability Workforce Strategy will be developed by the HSE later in 2025, to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges across specialist disability services. A key focus in 2025 is on analysing retention challenges and understanding why workers stay and why they leave. This will form the foundation for a retention action plan with a range of initiatives to respond to the requirements of the existing workforce.

The HSE are continuing to drive intensive domestic and international recruitment efforts and to undertake a portfolio of workforce initiatives to support sustained growth of CDNTs and the wider disability service. Building a skilled pipeline of professionals for CDNTs involves active and sustained engagement with the employment market and with students, to improve the perception of and interest in working in CDNTs.

A Student Sponsorship Programme was advertised by the HSE in April 2025 and will support Health and Social Care Professional (HSCP) graduates to take up a job in CDNTs, by providing financial sponsorship for part of their education costs, and matching them to a job in a CDNT. To further support the service provision, there is ongoing development of additional disciplines to expand skills mix and applicant pools, including the development of the role of Health and Social Care Assistant (Therapy Assistant).

In May 2025, a virtual career fair highlighted careers in CDNTs, targeting schools, colleges and overseas workers. Alongside recruitment drives, new roles and training pathways are being developed to expand the skills mix and strengthen applicant pools. Further to this work, the HSE continues to work with overseas agencies to expand international recruitment, with relocation supports available for Irish trained professionals abroad and streamlined CORU registration processes that significantly reduce waiting times.

Additionally, recent Workplace Relations Commission Agreements for Section 39 funded Disability Services will further support recruitment and retention by providing a 17.25% pay increase over three and a half years, ensuring greater pay parity across the sector. This will benefit around 27,000 staff across Disability services, significantly improving the attractiveness of roles within this sector.

Increasing the disability workforce is key to delivering on the step change in disability services envisaged in the Programme for Government.