Ireland’s Future Health and Social Care Workforce paper was published by the Minister for Health in December 2025. The paper sets out an evidence-based strategic direction for the health and social care workforce for the next 15 years. It details twenty actions to be taken in the years ahead to address future workforce challenges in addition to building on actions already committed to by Government in recent years.
Medical workforce planning supports investment in education and training of doctors for a sustainable health and social care workforce and supports implementation of The National Taskforce on the NCHD (non-consultant hospital doctor) Workforce recommendations, published in 2024, to support doctor retention.
The HSE National Doctors Training and Planning (NDTP), undertakes national medical workforce planning in collaboration with the Department of Health and postgraduate medical training bodies to ensure there is a sustainable supply of appropriately trained doctors to meet current and future healthcare needs.
Significant growth in Non-Consultant Hospital Doctor (NCHD) postgraduate medical training places and the number of doctors in training has been achieved in recent years. This work which is ongoing supports doctor retention. The HSE NDTP Medical Workforce Report 2025–2026 - www.medicalcareers.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Medical-Workforce-Report-2025-2026-FINAL-DIGITAL.pdf []- reports that the number of doctors enrolled in postgraduate specialist training has increased by 23% over the past five years. During this period, the following increases has been achieved:
• Basic Specialist Training places increased by 19%;
• Higher Specialist Training places increased by 26%;
• the consultant workforce increased by 39%.
Improving the recruitment and retention of doctors is a key objective of medical workforce planning. The HSE NDTP Medical Recruitment and Retention Report 2025 - www.medicalcareers.ie/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Medical-Recruitment-and-Retention-Report-2025-FINAL-DIGITAL.pdf - demonstrates a number of encouraging trends, as follows:
• 80% of doctors who completed Higher Specialist Training between 2017 and 2021 were practising in Ireland in 2025;
• more than 90% of Irish-trained GPs remained working in general practice in Ireland following completion of training;
• while many doctors undertake a period of international experience following internship, 77% of those who left for Australia subsequently returned to commence specialist training in Ireland, demonstrating that international mobility is often temporary rather than permanent.
Work is continuing to progress between Department of Health and HSE National Doctors Training & Planning (NDTP) to establish additional postgraduate medical training places, and to support targets for increases in the number of specialist doctors in training, informed by long term medical workforce planning projections.
