ONE-THIRD of medical and dental staff working for the Health Service Executive (HSE) are from ethnic minorities, according to a new report given to the board of the organisation earlier this month.
The report says that around 10 per cent of its 110,300 staff is from outside of Ireland.
It says that 5.16 per cent of personnel were from Asia, 2.4 per cent from EU countries or states in the European Economic Area, and that 1.65 per cent were from Africa and 0.22 per cent from Oceania.
A total of 0.26 per cent of health service personnel are from the Americas, according to the report. It says that within specific staff categories, 33.38 per cent of medical and dental personnel working in the public health services are from ethnic minorities.
The bulk of these personnel are likely to be non-consultant doctors in hospitals.
The report says that just under 15 per cent of the 38,000 nurses working for the HSE are "minority ethnic staff" as were 8.81 per cent of the 15,600 personnel in health and social care grades.
The HSE report says that 3.89 per cent of the 12,900 general support staff and 2.17 per cent of 17,900 people in management and administrative positions were from ethnic minorities.
The report maintains that the 2006 census found that 10 per cent of people living in Ireland were foreign-born and that this percentage was expected to increase to 18 per cent by 2030.
"The HSE staff profile reflects the significant population change, with a similar proportion of personnel representing people from minority ethnic groups and cultures," it says.
The report says that last February the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, launched the HSE national intercultural health strategy which sought to provide a framework "within which the healthcare and support needs of people from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds may be addressed while, at the same time, staff are supported and equipped to deliver a responsive culturally competent service".
Meanwhile, the HSE board was also told earlier this month that as of last April there were 1,201 fewer staff on the payroll than officially allowed under the employment ceiling of 111,505 set by the Government.
The reduction in staff numbers has come about mainly as a result of the controversial employment restrictions put in place by the health service last autumn.
The Irish Times revealed last month that there were nearly 2,700 fewer staff on the payroll of the HSE last March than there had been in early autumn 2007.