Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 December 2021
265. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of approved degree course places, first year intake and final year graduates, graduate output, for counselling and psychotherapy in each of the past five years in tabular form; his plans for increasing graduate output in this field; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60912/21]
View answerData on new entrants and graduates from all courses in social work and counselling between from 2016 to 2020 are available in the table below. These course types share an ISCED classification and therefore are grouped together and reported together for statistical purposes. Due to the way new entrants are recorded, undergraduate new entrants refer to full-time students only while undergraduate graduates refer to both full-time and part-time students.. There is no quota placed on these courses by my Department, and therefore the places offered are a matter for the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy.
The data below is take from the HEA's Student Records System, and therefore includes students enrolled in HEA-funded institutions only. There are a number of courses in counselling and psychotherapy provided by private higher education providers.
|
Year |
Course Level |
New Entrants |
Total Enrolments |
Graduates |
|
2016 |
Undergraduate |
794 |
3659 |
1448 |
|
2016 |
Postgraduate |
290 |
595 |
346 |
|
2017 |
Undergraduate |
799 |
3738 |
1356 |
|
2017 |
Postgraduate |
297 |
651 |
350 |
|
2018 |
Undergraduate |
905 |
4378 |
1534 |
|
2018 |
Postgraduate |
286 |
709 |
380 |
|
2019 |
Undergraduate |
839 |
4125 |
1571 |
|
2019 |
Postgraduate |
308 |
824 |
439 |
|
2020 |
Undergraduate |
993 |
4412 |
1601 |
|
2020 |
Postgraduate |
414 |
962 |
428 |
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.
