Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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2726. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to establish an undergraduate programme in orthotics, given that none currently exists in the State. [46422/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous with regard to academic affairs, including in relation to the programmes on offer.

When a need arises in a particular discipline, my Department consults with the relevant Department to determine the appropriate course of action. In the case of disciplines such as orthotics this would be the Department of Health. Over the last number of years we have worked with the Department of Health to address critical skills needs and expand training places in crucial disciplines such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, therapies and other health and social care disciplines.

To date, we have not received a request from the Department of Health in relation to the establishment of an orthotics programme. If that changes, we will engage with both the Higher Education sector and the Department of Health to explore options.