Addressing the home support waiting list is a priority for me in 2026 and the HSE National Service Plan 2026 includes, for the first time, an explicit target to reduce waiting times. As part of this, I have secured funding for an additional 257 directly employed staff in 2026, with the highest allocation of 56.5 healthcare assistants, HCAs, and three managers going to the west and north-west region. I can assure the Deputy that there is no pause or restrictions on recruiting healthcare assistants in Donegal, and increasing recruitment remains an active priority for me. Since September 2025, 39 additional healthcare assistants have been hired and commenced work in Donegal. In addition to this, a further 43 candidates have been offered roles, are progressing through pre-employment checks and are expected to take up employment over the coming weeks. Rolling recruitment campaigns are ongoing in the area. A recent recruitment drive for healthcare assistants resulted in a further 50 candidates being scheduled for interview. These interviews are scheduled to commence this week, 2 March. This pipeline will increase staffing levels further in the coming weeks. The agency conversion programme is also strengthening stability. Of 46 agency staff engaged, 42 have now been onboarded, including ten in Donegal since October who have moved to permanent HSE roles. The HSE continues to work closely with local education and training bodies to support a sustainable long-term workforce pipeline for the region in Donegal.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn. I assure him that there is an intensive recruitment campaign for healthcare assistants for Donegal. As I said, 39 additional healthcare support assistants have been hired since September to the Donegal services for home support. Furthermore, 43 candidates have been offered roles and are currently progressing through pre-employment checks. Seventeen of those are cleared to commence, and a further 26 candidates are currently in pre-employment clearance. A recent recruitment drive by the HSE has resulted in a further 50 candidates being scheduled for interview. These interviews are taking place now. There is a commitment and approval to recruit an additional 257 directly employed staff in 2026. That is on top of vacancies that are there. There is an absolute commitment by the HSE to continue to recruit healthcare assistants in Donegal.
Sentiment score: 0.27
In my role as Minister of State for older people, particularly dealing with home support services, I want to bring down the waiting lists. I want the HSE to actively recruit staff. I have met with the HSE about that on a number of occasions. For the first time, in the national service delivery plan for the HSE we are looking specifically to reduce waiting lists. As it stands, 39 additional healthcare assistants have been recruited by the HSE since September for Donegal. There are 43 candidates who have been offered roles and 17 of those have already gone through pre-employment clearance and a further 26 are undergoing it. There are also interviews taking place for 50 candidates. These are all people who will be employed by the HSE as home care assistants. The Deputy has a job to do as a representative for Donegal. I have a job to do as Minister of State. We got approval this year for an additional 250 whole-time equivalents. That is something I continue to engage with the HSE on, as well as reducing the waiting lists.
Sentiment score: 0.20
The 2025 programme for Government includes a commitment to explore the creation of a national centre of excellence for traditional skills. In furtherance of this commitment the Heritage Council established a task force on traditional skills. The task force met five times during the course of 2025 and is due to meet again later this month. The task force has to date commissioned three pieces of work, including an audit of available traditional skills courses and an assessment of the current and future demands for traditional building skills. A key finding of the group to date is that the market for skilled traditional tradesmen is experiencing an acute supply shortage driven by an ageing workforce, insufficient new entrants and the long-term erosion of training pathways. It is envisaged that policy recommendations aimed at addressing these issues will be made to the Government by the Heritage Council later this year. It is important to note that in addition to their importance for heritage, the transmission of traditional skills from one generation of practitioners to the next relies on an effective system of education and training. As such, and alongside stakeholders such as the Heritage Council, the Department intends to work closely with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to address the supply of skilled traditional tradespeople. To this end, and in parallel with the work of the task force, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board has an active further education and training college application, with plans to develop a national centre for traditional building skills. The application was lodged with SOLAS in 2024, and in February 2026 my colleague the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science announced that Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board would be in a position to appoint a design team for this important centre later this year.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank Deputy Callaghan. It is a programme for Government commitment, which is as strong a commitment as we can get, to explore the creation of a national centre of excellence for traditional skills. A task force has been established and it has commissioned work. There will be a report from the Heritage Council to the Government in respect of the work of the task force later this year. By way of interest, one of the items of work the task force completed was a survey of skills by RED C. It indicated very strong public support for traditional skills, with 91% of people saying traditional skills should be preserved and 88% people saying they should be taught in schools. In 2024, Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board made an application to SOLAS to develop a national centre for traditional building skills. In February 2026, the Minister for further and higher education announced that the board would be in a position to appoint a design team for the centre later this year.
Sentiment score: 0.38
With regard to the ongoing work of the task force, I mentioned the RED C survey on public attitudes to traditional skills. There was also an audit of traditional skills courses on the island in 2025. More particularly, there is an economic assessment of the demand for traditional skills, which goes back to the point Deputy Callaghan made. The report on the public attitude to the provision of courses is complete and the demand survey is in its final stages. That very much feeds into this. I have no doubt that, like Deputy Callaghan, the Leas-Chathaoirleach, Deputy McGuinness, will have a keen interest in the Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board progressing its application for a national centre for traditional building skills with the Department of further and higher education. As I have said, the Department and the Minister gave the go-ahead in February 2026. The board will be in a position to appoint a design team for this important centre later this year.
Sentiment score: 0.06