The HSE and lead agencies are experiencing ongoing challenges recruiting to maximum capacity in the disability sector. These challenges are reflective of issues affecting the wider health and social care sector and are impacting the ability of the HSE and disability service providers to deliver on their vital work. Ensuring that the disability sector is fully resourced is a key priority of the Government. This priority has been reflected in our programme for Government. It is important to acknowledge the progress that has been made in recent years. Employment across the HSE and section 38 agencies is at record levels and growth achieved in 2024 has greatly surpassed prior and planned performance. From December 2019 to December 2024, the disabilities workforce in the HSE and section 38 providers expanded from 18,273 to 21,528 whole-time equivalent staff, an increase of more than 17%. In 2024 alone, the disabilities workforce increased by 963 whole-time equivalent employees, representing a 45% increase on growth levels achieved in 2023. However, demand for services continues to grow beyond present capacity and significant challenges remain, so we must continue to innovate and build on the momentum. Increasing the disability sector workforce is a key priority for the Government. The number of funded posts in disability services has increased to 21,644 whole-time equivalent staff in 2025. This equates to an additional 384 whole-time equivalents associated with delivering existing levels of service and a further 133 whole-time equivalents staff to deliver new development measures. A dedicated disability workforce strategy will be developed in 2025 to meet growing service demands and address recruitment and retention challenges. Our ambition is evident in the disability action plan and is further underpinned in the progressing disabilities services roadmap, which sets out measures designed to attract and retain staff in the CDNTs. I can list these later.
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I thank the Deputy, who has raised valid issues. We are supporting practice education in CDNTs. There is a student sponsorship programme. There is also an initiative whereby four years of salary are paid to new graduates over five years to support a gap year in the fifth year. We also have the development of apprenticeship programmes. At national level in response to the challenges, we have rolling recruitment campaigns with employers. There is talent searching in the Irish and international markets for staff. We also have workforce issues in CDNTs. These are being tackled through the progressing disability service roadmap to address current vacancies and expand recruitment throughout children's disability services. At the direction of my Department, an assistant national director for disabilities workforce has been appointed in the HSE to drive disability workforce initiatives, with particular emphasis on CDNTs. There will be a disability workforce strategy developed in 2025. We are looking at a range of measures, including making sure we have a pipeline of therapists coming from third level institutions. We have HSE figures for community, voluntary and social care workers, who are the backbone of our essential services.
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I thank the Deputies for their questions. Have we moved on to Question No. 121 in the name of Deputy Ó Murchú?
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A children’s disability network team workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades-----
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I thank Deputy Ó Murchú. I thought that was what it was. My apologies.
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That is okay. It is good confusion. I thought we had moved on to the next question.
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That is good. It keeps me on my toes.
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No, the Minister is fine. I thank Deputies Ward and Ó Murchú for their questions. The question is on recruitment and retention of our staff, including therapists in our voluntary and community sectors. We are doing everything to make sure pay is fair. This is why there was a call to the WRC. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and I have brought a memo to Cabinet welcoming the talks at the WRC. From the Government's point of view, we want to make sure people are paid fairly and valued for the work they do. This is very clear. I welcome those constructive talks, which are the best way to find a resolution. The Government has given its commitment on this. We also need to make sure we have a pipeline of people coming through, including through apprenticeships and our third level institutions, whereby students who are training have an opportunity to go into CDNTs or a special school for the summer programme and have access to, and experience of, working with children with additional needs or adults who have disabilities. The number of training places in higher education institutes have increased. We have a growth in clinical placements in children's disability network teams. This serves to improve the recruitment of health and social care professionals into the CDNTs. The HSE career hub has more than 38,000 registered applicants. This gives CDNTs a substantial boost in advertising and engaging with targeted applicant pools. We also have outreach, which is important for improving the perception of the role.
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A CDNT workforce survey was conducted on 16 October 2024. This survey captured staffing levels across various disciplines and grades, providing a snapshot of the current workforce across 93 CDNTs. While this report only provides us with a snapshot in time, with recruitment having continued in the interim, it is the most comprehensive workforce report we have on CDNTs. It is expected that the full report will be published by the HSE in the coming weeks. The returning data indicates that the CDNT workforce increased by 17% when compared with the 2023 figure. This represents an additional 272 whole-time equivalent staff working across CDNTs. Within those onboarded, the largest growth was in health and social care professionals, accounting for 204 of the 272 whole-time equivalent staff. Most significantly, the CDNT vacancy rate has reduced from 29% in 2023 to 22% in 2024. That is a reduction of 7% nationally. Although recruitment challenges persist, this is a welcome development in the context of an acknowledged international shortage of personnel with the necessary qualifications or experience to fill vacant CDNT posts. In budget 2025, my Department secured €2.84 million in new development measure funding to provide an additional 40 health and social care professionals. That comprises 20 senior and 20 staff grade therapists. There are also 20 therapy assistants to enhance services, including in-reach services for special schools and special classes, and 15 clinical psychology trainee placements, which are critical to attracting and upskilling undergraduates to work in CDNTs post graduation. The progressing disability services roadmap focuses on the ongoing development of CDNT services to meet current and growing demand, as mentioned earlier to Deputy Ward. That includes a number of measures that will attract and retain staff.
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As the Deputy knows, we have the pilot of in-school therapists in Dublin, Cork and Galway being rolled out. He is absolutely correct about recruitment and the need to ensure we are recruiting. We have recruitment efforts across the HSE, section 38 and section 39 organisations to on-board staff and have sustained outreach and engagement, for example, with secondary schools and higher education institutions to expose more students to the rewarding and impactful nature of working in the disability services and CDNTs. Seven of the disciplines working on our CDNTs have been included on the critical skills occupation list, enabling non-EEA nationals to be eligible for a work permit. Also, on further supported service provision, there is ongoing development of additional disciplines to expand the skills mix and applicant pools, including development of the role of health and social care therapy assistant in 2024. In addition, practice education placements in CDNTs continue to be increased, alongside expanding the number of places in higher education to make sure we have the pipeline of therapists coming through.
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I thank the Deputy. I absolutely agree that the school inclusion model has been a real success. I will come back with the figures. It is my understanding that there are about 500 vacancies but I will revert to the Deputy just in case that number has been updated. My door is open in relation to meeting therapists. I have been engaging with service providers, service users and stakeholders since I came into this role. That is absolutely key if we are to get this right and get the policy right. We need to be listening to everyone, including the experts in the area, but also to those with the lived experience, the parents who are trying to get access to services for their children and the people with disabilities of all ages who are trying to get access to services. They are the people I need to listen to as well, who have the lived experience and who are the experts in that area as well. The Deputy can be assured that I will be continuing those engagements to make sure we get this right.
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That is not Question No. 122. Is that an additional question?
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The current delays in accessing assessments of need as well as therapy services are acknowledged and work is ongoing with the HSE to maximise the capacity of CDNTs to deliver therapy interventions to children and to produce assessments of need. This is being done via recruitment campaigns and other measures. In October 2023, the HSE published a roadmap for service improvement that focuses on the ongoing development of CDNT services to meet current and growing demand. One of these measures is the Government's decision in May 2024 to finance an assessment of need waiting list initiative. This initiative targets those families waiting longest for AONs, with the HSE reimbursing clinicians directly through the procurement of capacity from approved private providers. The HSE advises that by the end of 2024, in the order of 2,479 assessments of needs were commissioned from private providers during the months of June to December at a total cost of about €8.2 million. The Government has continued this assessment of need waiting list initiative into 2025 with targeted funding that will continue to enable the procurement of these assessments for long-waiting families. The HSE has advised that in CHO 9 in Dublin north-west, 2,086 children were offered an initial contact, individual or group intervention with a CDNT in December 2024, while 2,596 children were waiting for an initial contact at month end. In CHO 9 the demand for assessment of needs has increase by approximately 14% from 2022 to 2024. The roll-out of regional assessment hubs, including in CHO 9, will see the provision of personnel dedicated to the delivery of assessment of needs, while preserving the time of other clinical staff for the purposes of therapy interventions for children within the CDNT network. I look forward to these measures, and others, being of benefit to children and families accessing these therapy services.
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I agree with the Deputy that more needs to be done. That is an absolute commitment from me, as Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, and the Government, to look at whatever we can do to make sure that children are getting their therapies. Also, as the Deputy knows, CHO 9 is composed of local health offices of north Dublin, Dublin north centre and north-west Dublin. Some 1,690 assessment of needs applications were received in CHO 9 in 2024. That marks, as I said, an increase of 14% from 2022. I do not know whether I told the Deputy this earlier but as of December 2024, 3,193 assessment of needs in CHO 9 were overdue for completion. An assessment of need administrative hub in CHO 9 will assist with preserving the time of other clinical staff for the purposes of those therapy interventions. The Deputy can be assured that I am working with my Department and with the HSE in addressing the waiting lists. We are doing everything we can around recruiting more therapists from third level institutions, both domestically and internationally. My door is open in relation to any suggestions the Deputy may have or indeed within her constituency which I will be visiting soon to make sure we are helping these children who need these assessments and these therapies.
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