Third Level Admissions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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James Lawless (FF), Kildare North

We are very much on the same page. I will give the Deputy a list of courses that have been identified in consultation with the Ministers for Health and Education and Youth and myself. Occupational, therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, dieticians, radiation therapists, radiographers, medical scientists, podiatrists, social workers and educational psychologists are on the list. That is not to say that there will not be further courses within that but they were the courses identified for the first round of expressions of interest.
The Deputy mentioned CNDT groups, which I deal with in my constituency at a local level. I can provide training courses through the system, and have done and will continue to do that, but they need to be matched by placements in the HSE and health service. Without that, people will not complete their courses. Some colleges have told me they have or can make capacity for additional places but they need a guarantee from the health system that there will be placements when people get to the relevant time in their course. I have engaged with the HSE and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, on this. It is a critical gap or challenge in the system.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29