2026-07-09

93. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health her plans to increase clinical training capacity across health professions in the south east; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52161/26]

Workforce planning is an important component of planning for health services. This question is about the south east. What additional clinical training capacity is being looked at for the coming years across the south east?

I thank the Deputy. The Government is investing €28.5 million to expand healthcare education and training nationally, supporting over 1,100 additional training places by 2028. That includes 461 additional health and social care professions, HSCP, places across nine priority disciplines. Further expansion opportunities are being considered through the Higher Education Authority's expressions of interest process, informed by workforce needs, regional demand and clinical placement capacity. Clinical placement opportunities are fundamental to development of the future workforce. We are trying very hard to ensure that happens in community settings as well as acute settings, recognising that is where we want people to be able to work. We are also targeting the recruitment of Irish-trained graduates into permanent roles but, although I raised this with the HSE in September and October, we are not in a place I am comfortable with in relation to that for this year. I expect recruitment to be faster and to be co-ordinated with the terms our HSCPs and other students have. It is very obvious they are about to graduate at this time of year. There is a better way of organising that than is currently happening. In relation to the Deputy’s region, the HSE Dublin and South East region conducted entry-level HSCP recruitment campaigns in 2026 to support the recruitment of newly qualified graduates. In 2025, 33 HSCP graduates were recruited into the region: six occupational therapy, ten physiotherapy, five speech and language, six social work and six dietetics. Recruitment of the 2026 graduate cohort is progressing. Three occupational therapy graduates have accepted employment offers to date. This is expected to increase as graduates complete the CORU registration process which comes after their graduation. Recruitment for other disciplines is ongoing.

Recruitment is important and every additional staff member recruited in acute primary or community settings in the health service is to be welcomed. My question, though, was on increasing clinical training capacity. I know that also falls under the Minister for higher education. I think the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, was in the Chamber this week when I raised issues in relation to South East Technological University, SETU. It has plans for a new pharmaceutical, a new veterinary and a new one health building. All of that, if funded, will be important for more graduates, research and development. I spoke to the manager of the hospital a number of times. The glassworks site in Waterford is iconic because it is the former home of Waterford Crystal in Kilbarry. Now it provides opportunities to enhance SETU. I know from talking to the local hospital manager that they see the potential for a new medical school. I think I raised this with the Minister in the Oireachtas health committee in the past. I know it straddles other Departments but there is an excitement about the site that can be realised. It could be a good opportunity to increase training capacity for doctors and other healthcare professionals if it were supported.

I thank Deputy Cullinane. That does sound like a plan of work but I am afraid it is a plan of work for my excellent colleague, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and the Department of higher education. I do not wish to step across him but I can say in relation to clinical placements and training that I have met the HSE. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, and I have been working on this together, with some frustration that the placements have been too limited to acute settings and they need to be in community settings . We are trying to work on this, although I am still not satisfied it is happening at the scale that is necessary. I am glad Deputy Cullinane mentioned the hospital. We had a very good week this week with the commencement of 24-7 cardiac care in Waterford and I thank Ben O'Sullivan for all of the work he has done to get ready for it. I know another two consultants are yet to come into post and everyone else did extra work to make sure we met the deadline we set of 6 July. This is very good news. Of course, we will have our surgical hub by the end of the year. As to the medical school, I do not wish to step across my colleague, Deputy Lawless, on that, if Deputy Cullinane will forgive me.

Obviously, there has to be an element of cross-departmental and cross-ministerial work on workforce planning. The health service cannot recruit quickly enough if we are not training and training capacity is very important. I imagine a lot of collaborative work is being done between the Ministers and the Departments. What I am saying is that I will raise this with the Minister for higher education-----

Yes, and I will too.

-----but I am raising it with the Minister for Health also. We could also have more training capacity in the south east and get the benefit from SETU and its plans. The hospital manager, whom the Minister has praised for other matters, sees this as an exciting opportunity. The 24-7 cardiology care was a big day for Waterford and is a big step forward for health in the south east. I commend the Minister on the fact she ensured this happened. There was a campaign over a long number of years. I also commend people in Waterford and the south east, including in Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Tipperary, who came out in big numbers on a number of occasions to demand equality of access. The fact it is now there is good news for everybody in the south east.

I thank Deputy Cullinane and I acknowledge all of the people involved. The impact of it means people can rest easier knowing they will have the care they need at any time they need it. Of course I will discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and of course it is collaborative. The more I think about the co-location of hospitals and medical schools, what we are trying to do in medical devices and pharmaceuticals, and the opportunity for research and innovation, it is driving health not just for the benefit of patients but to make sure it is a driver for the economy as well. We have such an opportunity and we have such a talented workforce. We have such a medical clinical profession that is dedicated to research and innovation. All of these opportunities present and I am so glad Deputy Cullinane has raised SETU in this context as well.