Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30 ============================================================ Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central During the summer, there was an acceleration of recruitment within the HSE. That was even above approved staffing levels, so it has created a challenge for the HSE. That said, the HSE is looking at the nursing issue, specifically what can be done to accommodate those who have graduated. There are pressures on the HSE budget. There is no point in saying otherwise. We would like to prioritise front-line workers and particularly the recruitment of nurses. Over the past number of years, we have been in a position to provide vacancies for the full complement of graduates coming out of nursing colleges. That has been good because it creates good opportunities and prospects for graduates and is also good for the health service. I will continue to engage with the Minister on this. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-30