Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
72. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality the level of staff vacancies across the AON teams and CDNTs in Dublin, in tabular form; the measures the HSE has undertaken to recruit and retain more staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72848/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraChildren’s Disability Network Team (CDNT) staffing is reported on through an annual survey to capture the full workforce across the HSE, Section 38 and Section 39 funded teams. The survey captures staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the workforce across 93 teams. Alongside the provision of integrated therapy supports for children, CDNT staff also play a vital role, along with colleagues in Primary Care and CAMHS, in the provision of clinical assessments for the Assessment of Need process.
The latest Children’s Disability Network Teams workforce survey available was conducted in April 2025. As of this date, there were 2009 posts filled in CDNTs and there were 445.4 posts vacant.
This report outlines continued growth in CDNT staffing in all regions and a corresponding reduction in vacancy rates. There is an overall national increase of 8% in staffing in CDNTs workforce, compared to October 2024. This means there is an overall reduction in unfilled posts from 29% (October 2023) to 18% (April 2025) and an overall growth in workforce of 414.5 WTE since October 2023.
The continued increase in staffing and reduction in vacancies is a welcome and needed increase, however there is an acute need for sustained improvement in the workforce profile to meet the needs of children with disabilities and their families and to address the lengthy waiting lists for services.
An updated workforce profile will be available in January 2026 based on workforce review which took place in October 2025.
The following table provides an overview of staffing of AON Assessment Officers, Liaison Officers and Administrative Officers in the HSE Dublin and Midlands Region as of September 2025. The HSE records this data on a regional basis, and so figures are not available for Dublin only.
Please note that while these staff are responsible for the delivery of Assessments of Need, they are supported by a range of staff across HSE Clinical Teams and through Private Procurement who support in the provision of clinical assessments that may be required to inform an Assessment Report.
AON Assessment Officers and Liaison Officer Capacity in HSE Dublin and Midlands
|
CHO & Region |
Assessment Officers (AO) in post (WTE) |
AO vacant (WTE) |
Total funded AO posts |
Liaison Officers (LO) in post (WTE) |
LO vacancies (WTE) |
Total funded Liaison Officers posts |
GIII/IV/V Admin support to AO or LO specifically |
|
HSE Dublin & Midlands |
7 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3.5 |
There are substantial ongoing workforce initiatives and efforts to fill funded vacancies, and work continues at pace to increase staffing rates across CDNTs. The HSE and CDNT Lead Agencies work actively and collaboratively to improve and optimise recruitment into CDNTs and wider disabilities, which in turn has a positive impact on retaining the staff currently working in CDNTs and Disabilities.
These initiatives include:
• The HSE has developed a comprehensive engagement platform for candidates which now hosts more than 50k members. There is a specific area developed for the Disability services which markets its unique features and opportunities. Funded agencies that use this route are reporting a rise in eligible applicants to fill their vacant posts, which is resulting in expedited filling of vacant jobs.
• The HSE has developed a competitive relocation package to support recruitment from overseas with a renewed focus on Irish trained graduates who emigrated.
• In May 2025 the HSE launched the first ever virtual recruitment fair, profiling Disabilities which had global reach. This unique event showcased career opportunities within the HSE and its Partner Organisations in disabilities, offering an insider’s perspective on the rewarding world of disability services. Over 2000 engaged with the event. In addition, significant work has been completed between the HSE and CORU to streamline the processing for overseas candidates.
• The HSE has opened up relevant HSE recruitment panels to CDNT Section 38s and Section 39s so they could fill their vacant posts directly from in-situ panels and thus expedite the recruitment process, taking a whole health service approach.
• Fast track and targeted initiatives have been developed to focus on positions in the disability services that have been chronically ‘unable to fill’. This initiative has resulted in the filling of a number long term vacant posts.
• A Student Sponsorship initiative was launched for Disabilities in early April to incentivise and expedite the recruitment of new graduates into Disability roles - this is a financial award mapped to a job match for OT, SLT, Physio and Social Work and will benefit all regions. Almost 50 new graduates have taken up posts in CDNTs on foot of this initiative.
These activities form part of an ongoing suite of initiatives to populate vacancies, increase retention and improve the capacity to deliver services in Children’s Disability Network Teams utilising all recruitment markets - both domestic and international.
