Dublin: The Department of Health has confirmed that in the three years since COVID, thousands of health workers have been hired in Ireland. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly revealed that the HSE has made record appointments for the past three years. The minister stated that continuous appointments will be made this year as well.
More than 5000 nurses came to Ireland.
Over 17,000 healthcare professionals are employed by the government, including over 5,000 nurses and midwives, 3,000 health and social care professionals, and 1,800 doctors.
An additional 51 emergency medicine consultants were approved last year, representing a 40% increase over the current recruitment. As part of the second phase of developing a secure staffing framework, the minister stated that steps have been taken to recruit more nurses and health care assistants in these departments. The minister stated that highly skilled and experienced staff members were required to equip our emergency departments in order to provide better care.
All 16 recommendations were accepted by the government.
The government has accepted all 16 recommendations of the Strategic Workforce Advisory Group’s October 2022 report on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants. The minister also stated that they would be fully implemented.
Minister Butler established the Cross-Departmental Strategic Workforce Advisory Group in March 2022. It addresses 16 broad recommendations on recruitment, pay, conditions, employment barriers, training, professional development, and sector reform as soon as possible.
The government has agreed to the following recommendations.
Increase public awareness of the training and employment opportunities available to healthcare workers throughout the country.
Ensure greater equality in pay and conditions for care workers in the public, private, and charity sectors.
Facilitate collective bargaining.
To encourage part-time employment among the country’s unemployed.
Provide non-EU/EEA care workers in Ireland for positions in this sector.
Support the professional development of those working in the care sector.
Develop HSE’s capacity for timely and local recruitment.
The minister stated that the government has accepted all of the group’s recommendations, beginning with improving the quality of the evidence base for policymaking in the care sector, and has begun to prioritise their full implementation.
The government had approved 1,000 work permits for home support workers from non-EU/EEA. The minister said that this has helped to solve the shortage of employees in this sector.
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