7500 more job opportunities will be created in Ireland within a year., the government has announced

Ireland: The Minister of Health was speaking in Parliament in a discussion related to the Department of Health that more than 7500 more job opportunities will be created in Ireland within a year.

The minister also clarified that the process of selecting the employees is going on. The Health Minister also denied in Parliament the allegation that recruitment was restricted through freezing. He said that during the tenure of this government, more employees have come to serve in the health sector than ever in recent times.

From 2015 to 2019, the average increase in HSE workforce was 3,300 per year. But in 2020, 2021 and 2022, the average increase was 6,000 new posts, nearly double the previous year's 8,000 in 2023. Last year alone, the HSE made the equivalent of two-and-a-half-year appointments in previous years. In fact, last year was the highest recruitment in the 20 years since the HSE was established.

Stating the figures, the Minister of Health stated that the number of nurses at St Vincent's University Hospital increased by 49 per cent (+ 498 nurses / midwives) - Tallaght University Hospital by 53 per cent (+ 521 nurses / midwives); - Cork University Hospital (37 per cent (+ 599 nurses / midwives); He said there was a significant increase in the number of staff at the Mater Misericordia University Hospital (+ 488 nurses / midwives); Waterford University Hospital by 51 percent (+ 381 nurses / midwives);

Proportionately less is the number of Health Care Assistants and Radiation Therapists in HSA. Their numbers have decreased between January 2024 and July 2024. Action will be taken to address that. 

Many other areas of health services, from the National Ambulance Service to CAMHS, also have chronic understaffing issues. The Department of Health is moving towards a situation where there are safe staffing levels, not just in nursing but across the health sector, Stephen Donnelly said.