Home Help Service
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-05
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Kieran O'Donnell (FG), Limerick City

I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn. I assure him that there is an intensive recruitment campaign for healthcare assistants for Donegal. As I said, 39 additional healthcare support assistants have been hired since September to the Donegal services for home support.
Furthermore, 43 candidates have been offered roles and are currently progressing through pre-employment checks. Seventeen of those are cleared to commence, and a further 26 candidates are currently in pre-employment clearance. A recent recruitment drive by the HSE has resulted in a further 50 candidates being scheduled for interview. These interviews are taking place now. There is a commitment and approval to recruit an additional 257 directly employed staff in 2026. That is on top of vacancies that are there. There is an absolute commitment by the HSE to continue to recruit healthcare assistants in Donegal.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:44+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-05