Government to announce €37m fund for healthcare training in bid to address workforce shortages

It is hoped investment will deliver 274 additional training places annually across 12 professions.

The Government is to announce a nearly €40m expansion of training places for healthcare roles.

Further education minister James Lawless is expected to this week seek Cabinet approval for a €37m investment in health and social care education. It is hoped it will deliver 274 additional training places annually across 12 professions, as well as a new educational psychology doctorate to be provided at Dublin City University to help address workforce shortages across health, disability and education services.

The package forms the first phase of activation of the 2026 Higher Education Capacity Building Process and has been developed by the Higher Education Authority. The professions to be expanded include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, clinical and counselling psychology, social work, social care, dietetics, audiology, radiography, podiatry and medical science.

In a parliamentary response, Mr Lawless said the Government had "made significant investments to expand higher education capacity, including the provision of additional places in priority healthcare disciplines such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, therapies and other health and social care professions".

"Alongside these targeted healthcare expansions, investment has also supported the development and growth of National Tertiary Office pathways, which provide alternative routes into higher education outside the traditional CAO system and create additional opportunities for learners to progress from further education to higher education.

"These measures are increasing participation opportunities across the higher-education sector and have assisted institutions in accommodating growing demand for places," Mr Lawless told Sinn Féin Cork North-Central TD Thomas Gould, who had asked for a projection of students expected to enrol in third-level institutions in Cork.

Mr Lawless had earlier this month said an expansion of healthcare places had already been made to cater for increased demand.

"I have, therefore, initiated a significant system-wide expansion of capacity in high-demand courses, particularly across healthcare disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy and the health and social care professions, increasing overall capacity and supporting greater access for students.

"This includes an ongoing expansion of CAO entry pathways, with new programmes coming on stream and further increases in student intake across existing courses, supported through targeted investment such as the Healthcare Education Activation Programme."

Last month, figures released to Social Democrats Cork-East TD Liam Quaide showed multiple approved centres currently have just nursing and psychiatric staff available to care for vulnerable patients, with essential multidisciplinary services such as psychology, occupational therapy, and social work left either vacant or dealing with recruitment issues. 

The acute mental health unit at Cork University Hospital has no approved psychologist, with support instead provided by community in-reach services — the community unit which sees a client may continue to treat them when admitted to hospital.