The HSE is currently too reliant on overseas healthcare workers, the Minister for Health has said.
In 2023, there were 29,573 physicians in Ireland and 43.4% received their first medical qualification overseas.
On The Hard Shoulder, Stephen Donnelly described Ireland as an “attractive destination” for overseas healthcare workers and said he hopes to further increase the number of people working in the HSE.
“We’ve had four-years in a row of record recruitment,” he said.
“The HSE has been funded to increase the workforce between now and the end of next year by another 6,500.
“Then we are pledging for another 25,000 on top of that.”
Welcome campaign from @HSE_HR @HSELive to recruit hospital consultants from abroad.
✅20,000 additional staff since 2020
✅2,000+ additional doctors
I'm confident doctors throughout the world, both those trained in Ireland and elsewhere, will see the benefits of new contract. pic.twitter.com/fDmKcHtfie— Stephen Donnelly (@DonnellyStephen) June 12, 2023
Minister Donnelly, who is standing as a Fianna Fáil candidate in Wicklow, said Ireland is “blessed” overseas healthcare workers want to work in Ireland but the State needs to train and recruit more staff locally.
“Long may they come here and stay - they are very welcome,” he said.
“We’ve an obligation to ourselves and the developing world to be able to train and retain enough doctors, nurses and therapists from here.
“We’re in the middle now of doubling the number of healthcare college places; in the lifetime of this Government it’s gone up by about 1,100.
“Fianna Fáil believes we can get it up by another 2,000 over the term of the next Dáil.
“So, there’s a very serious investment.”
'Much further'
Minister Donnelly also said the State should try and ensure a great percentage of medical students are from the European Union.
“We have the biggest number of per head medical places in the OECD,” he said.
“In my opinion, we [give] too many of them to non-EU students; we are increasing medical places, nursing places - we’ve gone up by several hundred just in the last few years.
“But we need to go much further.”
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Main images shows Health Minister Stephen Donnelly. Picture by: Alan Rowlette/RollingNews
