Jen Cummins
Question:220. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Health her plans to increase the number of public health nurses; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27853/26]
View answerTuesday, 21 April 2026
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Public Health Nurses are employed by the HSE to deliver safe, quality and person-centred community nursing care across a person's life.
As of February 2026, there were 1518 whole time equivalents (WTE) Public Health Nurses employed in the HSE. This is an increase of 26 Public Health Nurses since December 2023.
An additional 26.7 WTE PHN posts provided for in Budget 2025 were recruited through the PHN sponsorship programme for September 2025 with an expected qualification timeframe for August 2026.
Budget 2026 has provided for an additional 3,300 whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff in the Health Service Executive (HSE), with all six Health Regions empowered to utilise resources strategically in a way that meets the needs of their communities. Each Regional Executive Officer will continue to prioritise, recruit and replace staff within their approved number as appropriate, including Public Health Nurses. At the start of this year, two regions, HSE Dublin & North East and HSE Dublin & Midlands advertised for PHN recruitment.
In 2024, to attract more nurses to specialise as Public Health Nurses, existing Nurses who wish to enter the Public Health Nurse Sponsorship Programme can now remain on their current salary scale.
The Public Health Nurse scale was also merged with the Clinical Nurse/Midwife Manager 2 grade along with the extension of the salary scale to one further point and the addition of a Long Service Increment.
These measures have contributed to an increase in the number of applicants to the programme in 2024 and 2025. In addition, over the lifetime of the current Public Service Agreement, public health sector staff, including Public Health Nurses, will receive a pay rise of 9.25%.
This Government remains committed to providing continued investment in the nursing and midwifery workforce and ensuring that public health nursing is available for all patients who need this care as outlined in the Programme for Government.