Health in Ireland : Key Trends - Health service employment
- Foilsithe: 26 Eanáir 2026
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 17 Bealtaine 2026
Employment by category
Table 5.1 : Public health service employment (HSE & Section 38), 2016-2025
| Grade category | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | % change 2016-2025 | % change 2024-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Support | 9,448 | 9,454 | 9,454 | 9,416 | 9,876 | 10,010 | 10,134 | 10,157 | 9,990 | 10,054 | 6.4 | 0.6 |
| Management & Administrative | 16,767 | 17,714 | 18,504 | 18,846 | 19,829 | 21,583 | 23,156 | 25,404 | 24,884 | 25,223 | 50.4 | 1.4 |
| Patient & Client Care | 23,122 | 24,281 | 25,292 | 25,719 | 26,985 | 28,042 | 28,418 | 29,631 | 29,747 | 29,902 | 29.3 | 0.5 |
| Health & Social Care Professionals | 15,364 | 15,950 | 16,496 | 16,774 | 17,807 | 18,999 | 19,721 | 20,785 | 21,430 | 22,525 | 46.6 | 5.1 |
| Nursing & Midwifery | 35,835 | 36,777 | 37,644 | 38,205 | 39,917 | 41,576 | 43,619 | 46,247 | 47,689 | 48,759 | 36.1 | 2.2 |
| Medical & Dental | 9,723 | 10,121 | 10,467 | 10,857 | 11,762 | 12,113 | 12,697 | 13,761 | 14,528 | 15,198 | 56.3 | 4.6 |
| Total | 110,259 | 114,297 | 117,857 | 119,817 | 126,176 | 132,323 | 137,745 | 145,985 | 148,268 | 151,661 | 37.5 | 2.3 |
Source:
HSE Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December.
Notes:
(i) Figures refer to wholetime equivalents (WTE). Previous figures have been revised to comply with current methodologies around Graduate Nurses and Support/Care interns. Pre-registration Student Nurses on clinical placement are recorded at 50% actual WTE, in line with a WRC agreement.
(ii) It is not possible to make valid staffing comparisons over extended timeframes due to changes in the configuration of the health sector.
(iii) Management/Administration includes staff who are of direct service to the public and include consultant’s secretaries, out-patient departmental personnel, medical records personnel, telephonists and other staff who are engaged in frontline duties.
(iv) Directly employed home help staff are included under General Support Staff w.e.f. 2018 and historical figures have been restated to reflect this methodology change.
Figure 5.1 : Public health service employment by grade category, 2016-2025
Source:
HSE Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December.
Note:
See note under Table 5.1.
Figure 5.2 : Proportion of staff employed in the public health service in each grade category, December 2025
Source:
HSE Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December.
Note:
See note under Table 5.1.
Doctors
Figure 5.3 : Consultant and non−consultant hospital doctors (HSE & Section 38), 2016-2025
Source:
HSE Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December.
Note:
See note under Table 5.2.
Figure 5.4 : Consultant hospital doctors employed in the public health service by category, December 2025
Source:
HSE Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December.
Note:
See note under Table 5.2.
Table 5.2 : Consultant and non-consultant hospital doctors employed in the public health service, 2016-2025
| 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | % change 2016-2025 | % change 2024-2025 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Consultant hospital doctors | |||||||||||||
| Consultant Anaesthesia | 373 | 389 | 394 | 407 | 431 | 437 | 453 | 490 | 533 | 552 | 47.8 | 3.6 | |
| Consultant Emergency Medicine | 92 | 98 | 97 | 108 | 121 | 131 | 156 | 185 | 206 | 225 | 144.7 | 9.6 | |
| Consultant Medicine | 723 | 755 | 790 | 828 | 914 | 978 | 1,099 | 1,229 | 1,371 | 1,454 | 101.1 | 6.1 | |
| Consultant Obstetrics & Gynaecology | 140 | 151 | 157 | 161 | 170 | 170 | 178 | 199 | 205 | 217 | 55.3 | 5.6 | |
| Consultant Paediatrics | 157 | 172 | 182 | 197 | 216 | 221 | 238 | 260 | 284 | 306 | 94.4 | 7.8 | |
| Consultant Pathology | 230 | 239 | 249 | 259 | 272 | 285 | 297 | 311 | 341 | 357 | 55.4 | 4.5 | |
| Consultant Psychiatry | 362 | 364 | 374 | 407 | 422 | 438 | 449 | 488 | 515 | 537 | 48.5 | 4.3 | |
| Consultant Radiology | 268 | 270 | 286 | 295 | 301 | 309 | 320 | 353 | 377 | 402 | 50.1 | 6.7 | |
| Consultant Surgery | 498 | 511 | 535 | 553 | 575 | 602 | 638 | 684 | 720 | 752 | 50.9 | 4.5 | |
| Consultant, Other | 19 | 22 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 37 | 42 | 48 | 50 | 57 | 196.7 | 13.5 | |
| Subtotal consultant hospital doctors | 2,862 | 2,971 | 3,096 | 3,250 | 3,458 | 3,608 | 3,869 | 4,246 | 4,601 | 4,858 | 69.8 | 5.6 | |
| Non-consultant hospital doctors | |||||||||||||
| Interns | 713 | 720 | 730 | 726 | 971 | 867 | 815 | 862 | 868 | 872 | 22.4 | 0.5 | |
| Registrar | 1,980 | 2,074 | 2,182 | 2,271 | 2,378 | 2,451 | 2,617 | 2,851 | 3,060 | 3,278 | 65.5 | 7.1 | |
| Senior House Officer | 2,217 | 2,295 | 2,346 | 2,390 | 2,623 | 2,719 | 2,846 | 3,227 | 3,363 | 3,463 | 56.2 | 3 | |
| Senior Registrar | 186 | 175 | 202 | 211 | 238 | 249 | 258 | 262 | 284 | 276 | 48.3 | -2.7 | |
| Specialist Registrar | 964 | 1,067 | 1,092 | 1,197 | 1,260 | 1,405 | 1,478 | 1,528 | 1,597 | 1,721 | 78.6 | 7.8 | |
| Subtotal non-consultant hospital doctors | 6,060 | 6,331 | 6,552 | 6,796 | 7,470 | 7,691 | 8,015 | 8,729 | 9,171 | 9,611 | 58.6 | 4.8 | |
| Total | 8,921 | 9,301 | 9,647 | 10,046 | 10,928 | 11,299 | 11,884 | 12,975 | 13,772 | 14,468 | 62.2 | 5.1 |
Source:
HSE Health Service Personnel Census at 31 December.
Notes:
(i) Figures refer to wholetime equivalents (WTE), excluding staff on career break.
(ii) Consultant Obstetrics & Gynaecology includes Masters of Maternity Hospitals.
(iii) All figures for registrars have been updated to include Registrars in General Practice.
(iv) Consultants, Other includes consultants in Dentistry and Intensive Care Medicine.
International comparisons
Figure 5.5 : Practising doctors per 1,000 population, 2024 (or latest available data)
Source:
OECD.
Notes:
(i) Practising doctors are defined as those who are providing care directly to patients.
(ii) Data for Slovak Republic is 2004. Data for Japan, Sweden, USA is 2022. Data for all other countries is 2023 or 2024.