Minister Foley announces recruitment of new Disability leadership roles in the HSE
- Published on: 5 March 2026
- Last updated on: 5 March 2026
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley has announced that the first-ever dedicated National Director for Disability will be recruited in the HSE, as well as six new Regional Disability Leads in the health regions.
The new disability leadership positions in the HSE reflect the Government’s commitment to improving services for disabled people in all parts of Ireland. These roles will drive the next stage in advancing disability services and will strengthen the HSE’s capacity for service management and planning.
Since responsibility for specialist disability services and responsibility for cross-government coordination of disability policy and strategy have come together into a single Department, the budget for specialist disability services has increased by 50% from €2.6 billion in 2023 to €3.9 billion for 2026.
In that period, services have expanded considerably, including at least half a million extra home support or Personal Assistance hours delivered annually, over 600 new residential places funded and a reduction of over 40% in the waiting list for Children’s Disability Network Teams.
However significant challenges remain. There are still too many people waiting for services, disabled people are not guaranteed the same level of service in all parts of the country and there is still progress to be made towards more person-centred supports and services. That is why the recruitment of these roles, at this time, is so important.
Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Norma Foley, said:
“These new leadership roles demonstrate the Government’s commitment to improving disability services. It is expected that these roles will deliver on an ambitious programme of service expansion and reform across the range of disability services, nationally and in the six regions. They will provide a strong voice for disability at national and regional level, with the Regional Disability Leads working very closely with the new National Director and acting as a key point of contact for my Department. It will give to disability the priority that it deserves.”
Welcoming the announcement, Minister of State for Disability, Emer Higgins, said:
“A new dedicated National Director for Disability is necessary to lead the scale of progressive transformation as envisaged in the Programme for Government. The regional level roles will be a critical component in making the new HSE regional structures work best for disabled people, disability services and in integrating disability with health services.”
Together with the new National Director, the six Regional Disability Lead positions will strengthen the HSE’s capacity to ensure additional funding is translated into delivery on the ground. They will have key working relationships with partner organisations and all relevant service providers contracted to provide disability services in the region.
The HSE will now commence competitive recruitment campaigns for these new disability leadership positions.
ENDS
Notes for Editor
National Director for Disability (National Director Level 3)
- The core functions of the role will be to oversee the expansion and reform of disability services, as well as to promote integration between disability services and wider community health services.
- The new National Director will lead the team of disability leads in HSE centre across the National Disability Office, disability finance, disability capital, disability workforce and have strong working relationships with the six Regional Disability Leads and other colleagues working in integrated health and social care structures in the regions.
- The new National Director will attend meetings of the HSE senior leadership team and report to the head of Access and Integration National Director (National Director Level 2).
Regional Disability Lead (Assistant National Director level)
- The role of Regional Disability Lead is a new position within the Regional Health structures. Each Regional Disability Lead will, within their health region, lead a coordinated, integrated and collaborative approach to delivery of disability services.
- The Regional Disability Lead’s responsibilities will include leading and driving reform at regional level, coordinating planning and reporting and contract management of funded service providers.
- The Regional Disability Leads will report to the Regional Executive Officer (REO) and will be a member of the regional executive management team.