I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 and 271 together.
Data on new entrants and graduates from all Psychology and Occupational Therapy courses between from 2017 to 2020 are available in the table below. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only. There is no quota placed on occupational therapy or psychology courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy. However due to need to provide clinical placements involved there are material constraints on the number of students that can be accepted onto occupational therapy courses.
There is a discrepancy in new entrant and graduate figures in occupational therapy, with a higher number of graduates from undergraduate courses than there are new entrants for that cohort. This is due to a partnership between Trinity College Dublin and Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore. Students from Nanyang Polytechnic complete three years of their degree in their home institution, and the final year in Trinity College. They are therefore counted among the graduates for that year, but never appear in the new entrant figures.
The data below is take from the HEA's Student Records System, and therefore includes students enrolled in HEA-funded institutions.
Table 1: Psychology
Year
|
Course Level
|
New Entrants
|
Graduates
|
2017
|
Undergraduate
|
433
|
592
|
2017
|
Postgraduate
|
625
|
577
|
2018
|
Undergraduate
|
490
|
586
|
2018
|
Postgraduate
|
563
|
541
|
2019
|
Undergraduate
|
572
|
560
|
2019
|
Postgraduate
|
641
|
701
|
2020
|
Undergraduate
|
609
|
714
|
2020
|
Postgraduate
|
804
|
651
|
Table 2: Occupational Therapy
Year
|
Course Level
|
New Entrants
|
Graduates
|
2017
|
Undergraduate
|
92
|
120
|
2017
|
Postgraduate
|
30
|
27
|
2018
|
Undergraduate
|
96
|
142
|
2018
|
Postgraduate
|
31
|
33
|
2019
|
Undergraduate
|
102
|
131
|
2019
|
Postgraduate
|
35
|
30
|
2020
|
Undergraduate
|
97
|
97
|
2020
|
Postgraduate
|
31
|
29
|
The matter of health workforce planning and ensuring an appropriate pipeline of qualified healthcare workers within Ireland, is a major priority for my Department. The Programme for Government commits the Department of Health to working with the education sectors, regulators, and professional bodies to improve the availability of health professionals and reform their training to support integrated care across the entire health service. My Department and I are continuing to engage with the Department of Health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can continue to deliver graduates with the skills necessary to support our healthcare system and support the strategic workforce planning by the health sector.