Healthcare Occupations

Key points for selected healthcare occupations

• There were approximately 95,000 persons employed in the selected healthcare occupations, representing 5% of total national employment.
  
• Most employment was concentrated in the healthcare sector.
  
• Over 70% of employment was at associate professional level (primarily in nursing and midwifery).
  
• Nurses and midwives were one of the largest occupations in the workforce as a whole, after sales assistants, teaching professionals and farmers.
  
• Employment in healthcare occupations increased by 3% on average annually over the period 2004-2009 — above the national average of 0.7%; a net 13,000 jobs were created between 2004 and 2009, primarily for nurses and midwives, therapists (excluding occupational therapists), medical technicians and auxiliaries.
  
• The majority of those employed in healthcare occupations were highly skilled: over 90% hold third level qualifications.
  
• Over one fifth of persons employed as medical practitioners was non-Irish.
  
• At 80% (90% for nurses), healthcare occupations were predominantly female.

Shortage Indicators

Job opportunities in the public healthcare sector remain limited due to funding issues. However, shortages of the following skills have been identified:

• Medical practitioners (general practitioners, non-consultant hospital doctors and specialist doctors (e.g. consultant radiologists)): over 500 doctors were sourced from outside the EEA in 2009.
  
• Advanced nursing practitioners (theatre nurses, and those specialising in radiology, diabetes, renal medicine and midwifery).
  
• Senior therapists: occupational and speech and language (33 employment permits were issued in 2009); physiotherapists (14 employment permits were issued in 2009) in niche areas e.g. paediatric disability.
  
• Mmedical radiographers (e.g. sonographers, mammograhers etc.) were reported as difficult to source by recruitment agencies, while 26 employment permits were issued for this occupation in 2009.
  
• The level of education and training output from dentistry has not kept pace with the growing demand for dental/orthodontic services, resulting in a shortage in this area.