Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Written Answers Nos. 256-278

• Díospóireachtaí
• Aimsigh díospóireacht
  • Díospóireachtaí na Dála
  • Díospóireachtaí an tSeanaid
  • Díospóireachtaí Coiste
• Aimsigh vótáil
  • Vótálacha na Dála
  • Vótálacha an tSeanaid
  • Vótálacha Coiste
• Ceisteanna Parlaiminte
  • Ceisteanna scríofa
  • Ceisteanna ó bhéal
• Leideanna cuardaigh
• Nuair a bhíonn tionchar tromchúiseach ag aithrisí

Departmental Expenditure

Ceisteanna (256)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

256. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the total expenditure on agency staff for her Department's funded activities in each of the past five years; whether expenditure has reduced from the €734,192,000 recorded in 2024, which professions and care areas account for the highest proportion of agency spend in each of those years; the specific targets that have been set under the Productivity and Savings Task Force to reduce agency expenditure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38068/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (257)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

257. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of radiographers and radiation therapists registered with CORU and employed in the public health service in each of the past five years; the vacancy rate for those posts across each of the six HSE Health Regions, noting the acknowledgement in her Department's December 2025 workforce paper of a current shortage of both professions across the public and private sectors; the additional student places that have been created to address this shortage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38069/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

I am responding to the question posed by the Deputy in its constituent parts below.

Number of radiographers and radiation therapists registered with CORU at 31 December in the past five years

-	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025*
Radiographer	2,758	2,987	3,782**	3,602	3,975
Radiation Therapist	499	514	Not included	583	619

*draft annual report 2025 figures

**not separately indicated

Number of registrants have been taken from CORU’s annual reports 2021-2024.  Please note separate figures for radiographers and radiation therapists were not provided in the 2023 report.

Number of radiographers and radiation therapists employed in the public health service at 31 December in the past five years

Staff Category/Group/Grade Group/Grade	WTE DEC 2021	WTE DEC 2022	WTE DEC 2023	WTE DEC 2024	WTE DEC 2025
Radiation Therapists	199	205	204	227	224
Radiographers	1,441	1,493	1,524	1,582	1,633

The numbers employed include those in Section 38s and those employed in the disabilities sector.

The vacancy rate for those posts across each of the six HSE Health Regions, noting the acknowledgement in her Department's December 2025 workforce paper of a current shortage of both professions across the public and private sectors

My Department is currently awaiting information on the vacancy rate for posts across each of the six HSE Health Regions from the HSE and this will be collated and a reply issued directly to you as soon as possible.

The additional student places that have been created to address this shortage:

• There were 145 year 1 students enrolled in radiography courses in the 2024 academic year (latest HEA figures available) with 50 additional places provided in 2025 and a further 30 additional places expected in 2026.

• There were 40 year 1 students enrolled in radiation therapy courses in the 2024 academic year (latest HEA figures available) with 3 additional places provided in 2025 and a further 20 additional places expected in 2026.

Home Care Packages

Ceisteanna (258)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

258. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of healthcare assistants and home support workers employed across the public health service in each of the past five years; the number of people waiting for home support packages in each of those years; the proportion of the long-term care workforce who are foreign-born compared to the OECD average of 20.6%; the progress that has been made toward the introduction of a statutory home support scheme as committed to in the Programme for Government [38071/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health

As this is an operational matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond directly to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (259)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

259. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the total number of whole-time equivalents employed across mental health services in the HSE in each of the past five years; the number of unfilled consultant psychiatry posts and the number of unfilled psychology posts across Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in each HSE health region; the progress that has been made in establishing the eight new specialist community mental health teams announced in Budget 2026; the level of investment in mental health services in each of the past five years; the way in which that compares to the overall health budget; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38072/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Healthcare Policy

Ceisteanna (260)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

260. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health when the next iteration of the Ireland's Future Health and Social Care Workforce planning model will be published; whether supply and demand projections will be extended in that iteration to cover dentists, radiographers, radiation therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, dietitians, and social care workers, all of which were excluded from the December 2025 model due to data limitations; the progress that has been made in establishing the Health and Social Care Workforce Planning Technical Group committed to in that paper; the steps that have been taken in each of the past five years to address identified data gaps across the health and social care workforce; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38073/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Building on national and international evidence, the overall goal of the Department of Health’s workforce planning work programme is to produce evidence-based rolling health and social care workforce planning action plans. Targeted health and social care workforce policy measures are needed to ensure that health services will have the appropriate workforce supply to meet the health and social care demand of our future population. It’s also about how we train and prepare the current and future workforce and aligning education and training with the needs of the population.

Work is underway to expand the professional coverage of the workforce models to include a wider range of Health and Social Care Professionals regulated by CORU. This includes updating and developing models to incorporate more recent granular data from CORU and identifying parameters requiring further investigation and developing preliminary results. Initially, this will include dieticians, radiographers, radiation therapists, speech and language therapists, medical scientists, podiatrists and physiotherapists. Social Care Workers, also a registered profession with CORU, will be included when they have been regulated long enough for sufficient data to be available for incorporation into the planning projection models.

The Department of Health is planning to establish a Health and Social Care Workforce Planning Technical Group to oversee and coordinate data gathering and other workforce planning model inputs, facilitate collaboration and coordination between the different sectoral groups, and provide visibility of planning outputs across the health and social care system. To maximise the value of the group, it is intended that this group will be formalised when the workforce projection model update is complete. The Department continues to engage with professional regulators and other bodies involved in providing data inputs to the model to improve data quality, align data requests to the model and coordinate future data collection.

Progress has been made in recent years to address data gaps. For example, in 2024, the Department of Health completed an EU Technical Support Instrument project. This project "Health and Social Care Workforce Planning in Ireland" aimed to support the Department of Health in strengthening health workforce planning in Ireland, through building technical capacity and providing the necessary tools and procedures, including a health workforce model. This project acted as a catalyst to improve data collection to support workforce planning activities. In recent years, professional regulators have also been improving their ICT systems enabling them to provide data required for workforce modelling.

Medical Cards

Ceisteanna (261)

Mark Wall

Ceist:

261. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Health if a person undergoing cancer treatment qualifies for a full medical card; if there are specific criteria for such qualification; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38084/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Medical card provision is primarily based on financial assessment. In accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE, which assesses each application on a qualifying financial threshold. This is the amount of money that an individual can earn per week and still qualify for a card. It is specific to the individual’s own financial circumstances.

People under 70 are assessed under the general means tested medical card thresholds which are based on an applicant’s household income after deduction of tax, PRSI and Universal Social Charge. Certain expenses are also taken into account. Detailed guidelines are available at: www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/applying/assessment/

People aged 70 or older are assessed under medical card income thresholds which are based on gross income. However, those aged over 70 can also be assessed under the general means tested scheme where there are particularly high medical costs. Details are available at: Medical card for over 70s.The issue of granting medical cards on the basis of illness or a disability was previously examined in 2014 by the HSE Expert Panel on Medical Need and Medical Card Eligibility. The Group concluded that it was not feasible, desirable, nor ethically justifiable to list medical conditions in priority order for medical card eligibility. In following the Expert Group’s advice, a person’s means remains the main qualifier for a medical card.

However, every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the legislation, to support applicants in applying for a medical card - in particular, to take full account of difficult circumstances in the case of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines. In such circumstances, the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card, for example:

Discretionary medical cards issued to patients with significant medical expenses but who do not satisfy the means test.

• Emergency medical cards are issued to patients that are terminally ill, or are seriously ill, and in urgent need of medical care that theycannot afford. Further information regarding emergency medical cards can be found at: www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/other-types-of-medical-card/emergency-medical-cards/

• Separately, I can advise the Deputy that, since 2015, medical cards are awarded without the need of a financial assessment to all children under 18 years of age with a diagnosis of cancer. Further information can be found on the HSE’s website: www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/other-types-of-medical-card/children-with-cancer/

I can assure the Deputy that, to ensure the medical card system is responsive and sensitive to people's needs, my Department keeps medical card issues under review and any changes are considered in the context of any potential broader implications for Government policy, the annual budgetary estimates process and legislative requirements arising.

Medical Cards

Ceisteanna (262)

Mark Wall

Ceist:

262. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Health the number of applications for a full medical card by those in treatment for cancer for each year over the past three years; the number that were successful, the number that were not successful; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38085/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Medical Cards

Ceisteanna (263)

Máire Devine

Ceist:

263. Deputy Máire Devine asked the Minister for Health for clarification regarding the policy or administrative basis for excluding pelvic gynaecological MRI scans from GP visit card coverage; whether this exclusion is consistent with Sláintecare’s commitment to universal, equitable access to healthcare; whether her Department or the HSE has assessed the financial and clinical impact of this exclusion on GP visit card holders; and the steps that will be taken to remove this inequity and ensure equal access to essential diagnostic imaging. [38087/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

The GP Access to Community Diagnostics Scheme (GPACD) is available for referrals by GPs to the full adult population, aged 16 years and over, delivering community-based radiology scans through contracted private providers. This scheme provides GPs with access to a defined list or scope of examinations, with the clinical examination scope reviewed and updated to ensure and maintain the delivery of an effective service, aligned with community needs and with growing demand.

During the most recent examination scope, a clinical team assessed and reviewed the types of diagnostic examinations provided, and those examinations deemed most suitable or clinically appropriate for community follow-up, and/or management within General Practice, were prioritised for inclusion.

Examinations where community follow-up and/or management within General Practice is not the most appropriate pathway are excluded from the GPACD Scheme, for example cancer care or other conditions where management is more appropriate through clinical teams in a hospital setting.

This process was developed to ensure that these tailored diagnostic pathways meet community clinician and patient requirements, whilst optimising healthcare resources. For the reasons outlined, not all MRI examination types are available through the GPACD scheme, including MRI Pelvic Gynae scans. 

Referrals for scan types not included in the GPACD scheme can still be made by a General Practitioner to other healthcare providers, such as those in public hospitals.

Mental Health Services

Ceisteanna (264)

Paul Lawless

Ceist:

264. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the emergency or exceptional funding mechanisms available within the HSE or her Department to support community-based mental health organisations at immediate risk of closure; whether such mechanisms can be applied in the case of an organisation (details supplied); and the details of any discretionary or contingency funding streams that could be deployed urgently in advance of 5 June 2026. [38096/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mental Health Services

Ceisteanna (265)

Paul Lawless

Ceist:

265. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she has requested the HSE to engage directly with an organisation (details supplied) to explore options to prevent its closure, including the potential for a short-term service level agreement or direct purchase of counselling services; and whether any such engagement is currently underway. [38097/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mental Health Services

Ceisteanna (266)

Paul Lawless

Ceist:

266. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if an assessment has been carried out on the impact that the closure of an organisation (details supplied) would have on access to counselling and mental health supports in the west of Ireland, particularly in Galway and Mayo where service provision is already limited; and the contingency plans in place to ensure continuity of care for affected clients. [38098/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Mental Health Services

Ceisteanna (267)

Paul Lawless

Ceist:

267. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health her views on the role of community-based counselling services in delivering early intervention and preventative mental health supports; if she acknowledges that the loss of services such as an organisation (details supplied) may lead to increased demand on primary care, CAMHS and acute services; and if her Department will take urgent steps to prevent such service gaps emerging. [38099/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

I acknowledge the valuable work undertaken by community based counselling services across the country, such as Helplink.

Funding to voluntary and community organisations is arranged through the section 39 process via local HSE Mental Health Services, once necessary criteria are met and where a need has been identified. All such organisations must make an application for Section 39 funding, which is then assessed by local HSE Mental Health Services and will be advanced or not depending on a variety of conditions, such as the organisation supplying the required information, local operational and clinical considerations, and HSE budgetary constraints.

In any negotiations between HSE and any charity or organisation, information such as audited accounts, governance arrangements and independent board of directors details are required, so that HSE can undertake necessary due diligence. Local HSE are always available to provide guidance to any organisation on the necessary work to comply with the requirements ahead of consideration of HSE funding of their organisation.

Prior to any funding arrangement, the HSE need full and complete details on the corporate governance of an organisation, such as information on the board responsible for independent oversight of the management of an organisation, along with an organisation's annual financial statements which comply with the most recent statutory deadlines, as well as details of what clinical governance structures are in place.

These are essential and appropriate steps on the road to providing funding to any organisation. The HSE is not in a position to provide funding in the absence of information necessary to provide assurance on corporate and clinical governance. These are the same requirements of all bodies to whom the State provides public funding.

On 19th May I met with Helplink, along with Minister Grealish and my officials, to discuss the situation and various options to support them will be explored. Any HSE funding support could only occur subject to the requirements outlined above.

Departmental Funding

Ceisteanna (268)

Paul Lawless

Ceist:

268. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health if she is aware that Galway City Council has indicated a commitment of €10,000 in match funding to support an organisation (details supplied), subject to State backing; if she will support the unlocking of this funding through Departmental or HSE intervention; and if this opportunity is being actively progressed as part of efforts to prevent the organisation's closure. [38100/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (269)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

269. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of medical graduates registered with the Medical Council, the number of medical graduates and the number and proportion currently employed in the Irish health service, broken down by Irish nationals, EU-UK nationals and non-EU nationals; the analysis undertaken by her Department on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system to absorb the growing number of medical graduates entering the workforce, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38106/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

The most accurate information held by the Medical Council in relation to the number of doctors who are clinically active in Ireland arises from the annual retention process between May and August each year, when doctors are required to retain their registration by completing the annual retention application form. This retention data provides insight into the number of doctors currently employed in the Irish health service.

It is important to note that there are certain cohorts of doctors who do not undergo retention, most notably doctors undertaking their internship, as these doctors join and work in posts allocated by the HSE, usually for a period of 12 months, and then must apply to transfer their registration if they wish to continue practising after completion of their internship. In addition, doctors who join the Register after 30 April in a given year, would not be included in the retention figures until the completion of the exercise in the following year. Further information on the retention process is available in the workforce intelligence reports published on the Medical Council website. The Medical Council’s 2024 report is available at: www.medicalcouncil.ie/news-and-publications/reports/medical-workforce-intelligence-report-2024.pdf

In 2025, 29,428 doctors retained their registration, of whom 22,257 (75.6%) were clinically active in Ireland. The table below provides an overview of doctors retaining their place on the Register and those clinically active in the Republic of Ireland from 2022 to 2025. As data on nationality is not readily available across all datasets, this information has been broken down by basic medical qualification, where doctors are grouped as graduates from Irish Medical Schools, graduates from the EU or UK, or graduates from an international medical school outside of Ireland, the EU or the UK.

Table: Doctors Retaining and Self-Reporting Practising Medicine in Ireland broken down by Basic Medical Qualification from 2022 – 2025

-	Retained	Clinically Active in Ireland
2025
Total	29,428	22,257
Ireland	14,249	12,599
EU or UK	4,509	3,090
International	10,670	6,568
2024
Total	26,591	20,962
Ireland	13,739	12,230
EU or UK	4,062	2,902
International	8,790	5,830
2023
Total	24,794	19,328
Ireland	13,413	11,709
EU or UK	3,676	2,661
International	7,705	4,958
2022
Total	23,108	18,839
Ireland	13,037	11,862
EU or UK	3,387	2,582
International	6,684	4,395

Higher Education Authority (HEA) data in the table below shows the number of graduates in medicine in each of the last five academic years from 2020/21 to 2024/25.

Graduates by year	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Medicine
Medicine Undergraduate	900	885	860	905	915
Medicine Graduate Entry	235	270	390	425	430
	1,135	1,155	1,250	1,330	1,345

HEA data is rounded to the nearest 5

Under the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, the HSE has responsibility for proposing the annual intake of postgraduate trainees required for each medical specialty. The National Doctors Training and Planning Unit in the HSE undertakes long-term medical workforce planning to ensure that postgraduate training capacity aligns with the future healthcare needs of the population and the projected demand for consultants and specialists across the health service. Workforce planning models analyse current workforce capacity, projected retirements, demographic change, evolving models of care, and anticipated service demand, and works back through the medical training pipeline to inform the number of intern, Basic Specialist Training and Higher Specialist Training places required over time. The NDTP’s recently published Medical Workforce Report 2025–2026 is available at: www.medicalcareers.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Medical-Workforce-Report-2025-2026-FINAL-DIGITAL.pdf

Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce paper published in December 2025 sets out an evidence-based strategic direction for the health and social care workforce for the next 15 years. It covers the entire health and social care sector, including public, private and voluntary. The paper is available at: www.assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c68b88d0/Irelands_Future_Health_and_Social_Care_Workforce.pdf

The paper shows an increase in demand for medical practitioners from 2023-2040 of 31%. The supporting Technical Note, which outlines the technical approach used to calculate workforce projections, can be found at: www.assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf

It is important to note that the workforce demand projections incorporate the outputs of the recently completed Health Service Capacity Review. This was delivered by the ESRI in collaboration with the Department of Health and HSE and estimated demand for services across Acutes, Long-Term Care and GP services. The demand scenarios included are the result of a series of workshops involving Department of Health and HSE officials over 2024 and 2025. Detail on how these outputs were incorporated into the growth rates for the workforce demand model can be found on page 3 of the Technical Note (link above). GP consultations are projected to grow from 19.4 million in 2023 to between 23.9 million and 25.2 million by 2040, a growth rate of between 23% and 30%. Further detail can be found here: www.esri.ie/publications/projections-of-national-demand-and-workforce-requirements-for-general-practice-in

Nursing Education

Ceisteanna (270)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

270. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of nursing graduates registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, the number of nursing graduates and the number and proportion currently employed in the Irish health service, broken down by Irish nationals, EU/UK nationals and non-EU nationals; the analysis undertaken by her Department on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system to absorb the growing number of nursing graduates entering the workforce, in each of the past five years, in tabular form [38107/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce paper published in December 2025 sets out an evidence-based strategic direction for the health and social care workforce for the next 15 years. It focuses on the long-term demand and supply of health and social care workers out to 2040. It covers the entire health and social care sector, including public, private and voluntary.

Ireland has a growing and ageing population and demand for health and social care services is increasing. ERSI research shows that Ireland’s population is projected to increase from 5.3 million in 2023 to between 5.9 and 6.3 million by 2040, with the range reflecting differing assumptions on future migration trends. Importantly, the number of people aged 65 years and over will increase from 1 in 7 of the population in 2023 to 1 in 5 by 2040.

The increase in demand for nurses and midwives is set out in Ireland’s health and social care paper. It shows an increase in demand from 2023-2040 of 43%. Further detail can be found in Ireland’s Health and Social Care Paper here: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c68b88d0/Irelands_Future_Health_and_Social_Care_Workforce.pdf

The technical work underlying projections are outlined here: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf

These projections incorporate gradual increases in the domestic supply of domestic nurses and midwives over time to meet projected demand.

It is important to note that the workforce demand projections incorporate the outputs of the recently completed Health Service Capacity Review. This was delivered by the ESRI in collaboration with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive and estimated demand for services across Acutes, Long-Term Care and GP services. The demand scenarios included are the result of a series of workshops involving DoH and HSE officials over 2024 and 2025. Detail on how these outputs were incorporated into the growth rates for the workforce demand model can be found on page 3 of the following Technical Note: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf

Higher Education Authority (HEA) data in the table below shows the number of graduates in nursing in each of the academic years from 2020/21 to 2024/25. Every new graduate is offered a contract upon graduation.

Nursing Graduates 2020-2024

Note: HEA data for nursing programmes is rounded to the nearest 5

Nursing Graduates	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Nursing Total	1,455	1,535	1,540	1,535	1,590

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) data in the table below shows the number of both graduates in nursing registered to the NMBI from 2021-2025, broken down by general nurses, intellectual disability nurses, psychiatric nurses and children's nurses.

Nursing Graduates on the NMBI Register 2021 – 2025

Year	General Nurses	Intellectual Disability Nurses	Psychiatric Nurses	Childrens (Integrated Course out of total General)
2021	875	187	349	89
2022	903	175	338	104
2023	964	151	371	117
2024	990	156	338	110
2025	1036	169	354	106
Total	4,768	838	1,750	526

In regard to the number and proportion of nurses currently employed in the Irish health service, this has been referred to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy as this is an operational matter.

Dental Services

Ceisteanna (271)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

271. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of dental graduates registered with the Dental Council, the number of dental graduates, and the number and proportion currently employed in the Irish health service, broken down by Irish nationals, EU/UK nationals and non-EU nationals; the analysis undertaken by her Department on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system to absorb the growing number of dental graduates entering the workforce, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38108/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

It is heartening to note that there are 3,930 dentists on the Dental Council register as of 18th of May 2026, which is an increase of 107 since April 2025. This reflects ongoing upward trends regarding registered dentists in the State, and compares favourably with the numbers in April 2019, when Smile agus Sláinte was published–3,100, an increase of over 26%.

Data from the Dental Council indicates that the European Union (EU) is a source of dentistry workforce stock for Ireland. Out of the 3,930 registrants on the register of dentists almost 40% are EU/UK nationals. These dentists do and will continue to contribute to our workforce, and it reflects positively on Ireland as a country of destination for qualified dentists to register in and work. In total, today on the Council's register, 2122 registrants are Irish, 1521 registrants are EU/UK, and 287 registrants are non-EU.

In terms of the number of dental graduates in Ireland, the national capacity for dentistry courses until recently was only approximately 60 Irish/EU places annually out of a total of approximately 100. This Government has worked to increase the number of Irish/EU dental undergraduate places, and there are now around 80 Irish/EU places in academic year 2025/26.

My Department intends to increase the number of dental training places by engaging with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) and the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

As part of this engagement, I understand that officials from DFHERIS are in discussions with University College Cork regarding its proposal to establish a community-based dental outreach centre in North Cork, and to advance this important project.

The proposal, which includes a request for capital investment from my Department, will support an increase in undergraduate dental training capacity and provide students with earlier clinical exposure in primary care settings.

My Department has also received a proposal to increase to the number dental training places at the Dublin Dental University Hospital at Trinity College Dublin. This will require further discussion to progress this proposal with the aim to maximise both Irish and EU places to enhance workforce capacity in Ireland, as well as increased service provision. This engagement is ongoing, and my officials recently met with DDUH to discuss further.

Both these initiatives complement the commencement of the new Bachelor of Dental Surgery Programme at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RSCI) in September 2025. The RCSI has informed us that its intake is 30 students, 21 of whom are Irish/EU students. The RCSI has secured an agreement with the HEA to expand its intake to 35 Irish/EU student places by 2027.

These dentists provide important oral healthcare services to the public through our public dental system in the Health Service Executive (HSE). There are currently 234 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) dentists in the HSE's Oral Healthcare Service, across the various grades of dentist.

Funding of €4m has been invested by the Government to support the addition of 15 HSE dental staff across dentists and dental nurses to deliver oral healthcare in the community. Of these 15 posts, 8 have been on boarded/recruitment complete, 6 have campaigns underway, and 1 post has been approved.

Further, the HSE has sanctioned filling 34.7 existing WTE vacancies in the Oral Healthcare Service and have advised that the recruitment has commenced. My Department is supportive of the recruitment of 49.7 WTE identified through these two processes, which will improve the staffing levels currently available to provide service.

In terms of undertaking an analysis on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system, we are planning for the future by undertaking work an oral healthcare workforce plan. This plan is currently being developed and aligns with one of the recommendations in the recent report from the Joint Committee on Health on Dental Services in the Healthcare System. The recommendation in the report includes developing a strategic workforce plan which my Department is currently advancing.

This oral healthcare workforce plan will complement the work already undertaken by my officials and the Dental Council to reform the current Register for Dentists. In order to support this, a workforce skills assessment census framework for the oral healthcare sector has been designed. The workforce census is intended to gather information including the number of registered oral healthcare professionals who are practicing in their registered profession, the location of their practice, services they provide, and the skills they have.

The information collected from the workforce census will enable the collation of important data to better inform workforce planning for the oral healthcare sector by providing vital insights into the sector's workforce and by identifying the skills that oral healthcare professionals need to provide oral healthcare services to the public.

My Department remains committed to working with DFHERIS to increase dental training capacity in a sustainable and strategic manner. By enhancing our future workforce, we are taking steps to ensure that the National Oral Health Policy is implemented.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (272)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

272. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of midwifery graduates registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, the number of midwifery graduates, and the number and proportion currently employed in the Irish health service, broken down by Irish nationals, EU/UK nationals and non-EU nationals; the analysis undertaken by her Department on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system to absorb the growing number of midwifery graduates entering the workforce, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38109/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce paper published in December 2025 sets out an evidence-based strategic direction for the health and social care workforce for the next 15 years. It focuses on the long-term demand and supply of health and social care workers out to 2040. It covers the entire health and social care sector, including public, private and voluntary.

Ireland has a growing and ageing population and demand for health and social care services is increasing. ERSI research shows that Ireland’s population is projected to increase from 5.3 million in 2023 to between 5.9 and 6.3 million by 2040, with the range reflecting differing assumptions on future migration trends. Importantly, the number of people aged 65 years and over will increase from 1 in 7 of the population in 2023 to 1 in 5 by 2040.

The increase in demand for nurses and midwives is set out in Ireland’s health and social care paper. It shows an increase in demand from 2023-2040 of 43%. Nurses and midwives are grouped together as we are not yet able to distinguish them sufficiently within available data. Further detail can be found in Ireland’s Health and Social Care Paper here: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c68b88d0/Irelands_Future_Health_and_Social_Care_Workforce.pdf

The technical work underlying projections are outlined here: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf

These projections incorporate gradual increases in the domestic supply of domestic nurses and midwives over time to meet projected demand.

It is important to note that the workforce demand projections incorporate the outputs of the recently completed Health Service Capacity Review. This was delivered by the ESRI in collaboration with the Department of Health and the HSE and estimated demand for services across Acutes, Long-Term Care and GP services. The demand scenarios included are the result of a series of workshops involving DoH and HSE officials over 2024 and 2025. Detail on how these outputs were incorporated into the growth rates for the workforce demand model can be found on page 3 of the following Technical Note: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf

Regarding demand for maternity services, it is important to consider skills mix and staffing levels, decreasing births, rising complexities during pregnancy and delivery, regional trends and graduate supply pipelines. Ireland has the highest rate of practising midwives per 1000 at 0.80 for 2023 (or 0.82 for 2024). However, due to the close historic links between the nursing and midwifery profession, a large amount of NMBI registered midwives are currently practising but not as midwives so further data retrieval and analysis is required to determine the number of midwives delivering maternity care.

To enable and support workforce planning efforts for midwives, the Department is engaging with the NMBI to more accurately identify what division of the register someone is practising in. This is expected to improve our understanding of the number of registrants working as midwives and better identify those coming on and off the register. This will support improved workforce supply modelling in future.

Higher Education Authority (HEA) data in the table below shows the number of graduates in midwifery in each of the academic years from 2020/21 to 2024/25. Every new graduate is offered a contract upon graduation.

Midwifery Graduates 2020 – 2024

Note: HEA data for midwifery programmes is rounded to the nearest 5

Midwifery Graduates	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Midwifery Total	135	115	120	135	140

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) data in the table below shows the number of both undergraduate and postgraduate in midwifery registered to the NMBI from 2021-2025.

Midwifery graduates on the NMBI Register 2021 – 2025

Year	Midwives (undergraduate)	Postgraduate Midwifes	Total Midwives
2021	115	108	223
2022	105	104	209
2023	124	10	134
2024	144	75	219
2025	124	67	191
Total	612	364	976

In regard to the number and proportion of midwives currently employed in the Irish health service, this has been referred to the HSE for direct response to the Deputy as this is an operational matter.

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (273)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

273. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant radiologists registered on the specialist division of the Medical Council, the number newly registered, and the number and proportion currently employed in the Irish health service, broken down by Irish nationals, EU-UK nationals and non-EU nationals; the analysis undertaken by her Department on workforce capacity and demand for radiology services, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38110/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available to the Medical Council in the form set out in the question.

The most accurate information held by the Medical Council in relation to the number of doctors on the Specialist Division of the Register in the area of radiology arises from the annual retention process between May and August, when doctors are required to retain their registration by completing the annual retention application form. This retention data provides insight into the number of doctors currently employed in the Irish health service. All doctors who complete the retention process report their current or most recent area of practice. If a doctor reports practising medicine in Ireland, they may report working as a hospital consultant or other consultant or specialist as a follow up to this question. This question on role became mandatory in 2024. Figures from before 2024 may slightly underestimate the true value.

It is important to note that certain cohorts of doctors do not undergo retention, this includes all doctors joining the Register after 30 April in a given year. Further information on the retention process is available in the workforce intelligence reports published on the Medical Council website. The Medical Council’s 2024 report is available at: www.medicalcouncil.ie/news-and-publications/reports/medical-workforce-intelligence-report-2024.pdf

The table at the link below sets out the specialists retaining and self-reporting practising medicine in Ireland in the area of radiology from 2022 – 2025. As data on nationality is not readily available across all datasets, this information has been broken down by basic medical qualification, where doctors are grouped as graduates from Irish Medical Schools, graduates from the EU or UK, or graduates from an international medical school outside of Ireland, the EU or the UK.

Radiology by Basic Medical Qualification 2022 – 2025

The NDTP report The Radiology Workforce in Ireland 2024–2040 identifies significant projected growth in demand for radiology services over the coming decade, driven by demographic change and increased diagnostic imaging activity. The report identifies a requirement for substantial expansion in radiology workforce capacity and recommends increasing annual radiology trainee intake from 39 trainees in 2025 to 75 trainees by 2028. The total radiology trainee cohort is projected to increase from 164 trainees in 2024 to approximately 375 trainees by 2032 in order to meet projected service demand and address existing workforce deficits.

Delivery of the recommended increase in trainee numbers will require significant additional investment in funded training posts, trainer capacity, infrastructure, and associated service supports. The Department is working closely with the HSE on the funding and service planning required to incrementally expand radiology training capacity in line with identified workforce demand. The published report is available here: www.medicalcareers.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/radiology-report-2026.pdf

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (274)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

274. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the number of consultant psychiatrists registered on the specialist division of the Medical Council, the number newly registered, and the number and proportion currently employed in the Irish health service, broken down by Irish nationals, EU-UK nationals and non-EU nationals; the analysis undertaken by her Department on workforce capacity and demand for psychiatric services in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38111/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available to the Medical Council in the form set out in the question.

The most accurate information held by the Medical Council in relation to the number of doctors on the Specialist Division of the Register in the area of psychiatry arises from the annual retention process between May and August, when doctors are required to retain their registration by completing the annual retention application form. This retention data provides insight into the number of doctors currently employed in the Irish health service. All doctors who complete the retention process report their current or most recent area of practice. If a doctor is practising medicine in Ireland, they may report working as a hospital consultant or other consultant or specialist as a follow up to this question. This question on role became mandatory in 2024. Figures from before 2024 may slightly underestimate the true value.

It is important to note that certain cohorts of doctors do not undergo retention, this includes all doctors joining the Register after 30 April in a given year. Further information on the retention process is available in the workforce intelligence reports published on the Medical Council website. The Medical Council’s 2024 report is available at: www.medicalcouncil.ie/news-and-publications/reports/medical-workforce-intelligence-report-2024.pdf

The table at the link below sets out the specialists retaining and self-reporting practising medicine in Ireland in the area of psychiatry (including Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatry of Old Age or Psychiatry of Learning Disability) from 2022 – 2025. As data on nationality is not readily available across all datasets, this information has been broken down by basic medical qualification, where doctors are grouped as graduates from Irish Medical Schools, graduates from the EU or UK, or graduates from an international medical school outside of Ireland, the EU or the UK.

Basic Medical Qualification 2022 – 2025

The NDTP report Medical Workforce Planning for the Specialty of Psychiatry 2020–2030 identified significant existing and projected demand for psychiatric services, driven by population growth and ageing, increasing prevalence and complexity of mental health presentations, implementation of national mental health policy, and ongoing service reform across community and acute settings.

Since publication of the report, work has been undertaken by the Department, the HSE and the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland to incrementally increase psychiatry workforce capacity. The number of doctors enrolled in psychiatry training programmes has increased from 144 in 2021 to 184 in 2025, representing an increase of approximately 28%. Over the same period, the consultant psychiatry workforce has increased from 483 to 600 posts, representing an increase of approximately 24%.

Work is continuing across the Department, the HSE and relevant stakeholders to further expand training and consultant workforce capacity in line with the recommendations and projected service demand identified in the report.

In addition, the Strategic Workforce Planning and Intelligence Team within the HSE is continuing its collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) to develop workforce demand projections across care groups within Community Care Services. This project will extend the ESRI’s healthcare projection model, Hippocrates, to provide detailed workforce projections for selected professions out to 2035. As part of this work, a Mental Health workforce report is due for publication in Q4 2026.

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (275)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

275. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health the total number of registrants on the Medical Council register, the number of new first-time registrants in each year, and the number and proportion employed in the Irish health service in each of those years, broken down by those who obtained their primary medical qualification in Ireland, in the EU and UK, and outside the EU and UK, respectively; the analysis undertaken by her Department on the capacity of the Irish healthcare system to absorb the growing number of medical practitioners entering the workforce, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38112/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

As of the 31 December 2025 there were 37,977 doctors on the Medical Council's Register. This figure reflects all registered medical practitioners and does not indicate how many are currently practising medicine or who are based in the Republic of Ireland. The most accurate information held by the Medical Council in relation to the number of doctors who are clinically active in Ireland arises from the annual retention process, whereby doctors are required to retain their registration by completing the annual retention application form. This retention data provides insight into the number of doctors currently employed in the Irish health service. I refer the Deputy to the answer to question 38106/26 in this regard.

The table below provides end year figures on numbers on the register and first registered doctors. This information has been broken down by basic medical qualification, where doctors are grouped as graduates from Irish Medical Schools, graduates from the EU or UK, or graduates from an international medical school outside of Ireland, the EU or the UK. Data on first registered doctors joining the Register reflects those who joined the Register and remained on the Register by the end of the referenced year. If a doctor joined and left the Register before the end of the year, they are not captured.

Table. Year-End Figures of the Register with a breakdown of where these doctors received their Basic Medical Qualifications

-	Register at Year End	First Registered Doctors
2025
Total	37,977	6,445
Ireland	17,391	800
EU or UK	5,774	1,304
International	14,812	4,341
2024
Total	33,244	4,721
Ireland	16,824	895
EU or UK	4,847	838
International	11,573	2,988
2023
Total	29,488	3,155
Ireland	16.141	861
EU or UK	4,232	598
International	9,115	1,696
2022
Total	27,521	2,843
Ireland	15,697	841
EU or UK	3,901	479
International	7,923	1,523

Taken from the HSE NDTP Medical Workforce Report 2025–2026, (available at: www.medicalcareers.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Medical-Workforce-Report-2025-2026-FINAL-DIGITAL.pdf), the table below provides an overview of the growth in the medical workforce across the public health service over recent years, including consultants, NCHDs in training posts, and NCHDs not enrolled on training schemes. The figure demonstrates the continued expansion in medical workforce capacity across the health service over the last 5 years.

Cohort	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025	Avg Growth Rate 2024-25	Avg 5-year Change Rate	Overall 5-year Growth
Interns	854	821	873	879	861	-2%	0%	1%
Basic Training - Specialist	1,845	1,878	1,966	2,042	2.,187	7%	4%	19%
Higher Training - Specialist	1,957	2,083	2,145	2,251	2,465	10%	6%	26%
IMGTI Scholariships	129	138	145	178	213	20%	13%	65%
Post-CSCST Fellowships	69	68	69	62	65	6%	-1%	-4%
Total Training NCHDs (excl interns)	4,000	4,167	4,325	4,533	4,930	9%	5%	23%
Total Training NCHDs (incl interns)	4,854	4,988	5,198	5,412	5,791	7%	5%	19%
Non-training scheme doctors (NTSDs)	2,801	2,920	3,549	3,950	4,018	2%	9%	43%
Total NCHDs (incl interns)	7,655	7,908	8,747	9,362	9,809	5%	6%	28%
Consultant Workforce	3,563	3,814	4,289	4,698	4,962	6%	9%	39%
Total Consultant and NCHDs (incl interns)	11,218	11,722	13,036	14,060	14,771	5%	7%	32%

Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce paper published in December 2025 sets out an evidence-based strategic direction for the health and social care workforce for the next 15 years. It covers the entire health and social care sector, including public, private and voluntary. The paper is available at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/c68b88d0/Irelands_Future_Health_and_Social_Care_Workforce.pdf

The paper shows an increase in demand for medical practitioners from 2023-2040 of 31%. The supporting Technical Note, which outlines the technical approach used to calculate workforce projections, can be found at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/5c7b3e74/Future_HSC_Workforce_Technical_Note.pdf

It is important to note that the workforce demand projections incorporate the outputs of the recently completed Health Service Capacity Review. This was delivered by the ESRI in collaboration with the Department of Health and HSE and estimated demand for services across Acutes, Long-Term Care and GP services. The demand scenarios included are the result of a series of workshops involving Department of Health and HSE officials over 2024 and 2025. Detail on how these outputs were incorporated into the growth rates for the workforce demand model can be found on page 3 of the Technical Note (link above). GP consultations are projected to grow from 19.4 million in 2023 to between 23.9 million and 25.2 million by 2040, a growth rate of between 23% and 30%. Further detail can be found here: www.esri.ie/publications/projections-of-national-demand-and-workforce-requirements-for-general-practice-in

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (276)

Barry Ward

Ceist:

276. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the staffing ratios between midwives and mothers in postnatal wards across Irish maternity hospitals, by hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38114/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Hospital Staff

Ceisteanna (277)

Barry Ward

Ceist:

277. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the number of staff employed in postnatal wards, by role and hospital; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38115/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

Health Services Staff

Ceisteanna (278)

Barry Ward

Ceist:

278. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the position regarding the number of staff employed in community services delivering care to mothers and babies, by role; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38116/26]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Health

As this is a service matter, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to the Deputy directly, as soon as possible.

• Written Answers Nos. 237-255
• Written Answers Nos. 279-301