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(Community Healthcare Support Worker, Community Health Assistant, Community Care Worker, Community Healthcare Assistant)
Health & Social Care
Salary
€28,000 - €45,000/yr
Level
Operational
Outlook
Growing
Sector
Health & Social Care
As a Community Health Worker you support individuals and communities in maintaining and improving their health and wellbeing, often working with vulnerable or marginalised groups. You provide advice on topics such as nutrition, smoking cessation, maternal health, and chronic disease management, and you connect people with the wider network of HSE and community services available to them. Much of your work involves visiting clients in their homes, community centres, or GP surgeries as part of a Primary Care Team, collaborating with public health nurses, social workers, GPs, and voluntary organisations. You keep detailed records of your work with service users, contribute to health promotion campaigns, and help develop prevention programmes tailored to the needs of your local community.
Listen: a day as a Community Health Worker
Your alarm goes off at seven-thirty. You are based in a Primary Care Centre in a mid-sized town, and your shift starts at eight-forty-five. Before leaving the house you check your phone for any messages from your team leader about schedule changes. You pack your bag with printed health promotion leaflets, a blood pressure cuff, and a folder of referral forms for HSE services. You arrive at the Primary Care Centre and spend fifteen minutes at your desk reviewing your caseload on the shared electronic records system. You note that one client, an older man managing type-two diabetes, missed his last GP appointment. You flag this for the public health nurse and add a reminder to your paper diary to follow up by phone later in the morning.
Entry into community health work typically requires a QQI Level 5 award in Community and Health Services, Health Care, or a related discipline, available through PLC courses at Colleges of Further Education run by ETBs across Ireland. Leaving Certificate subjects such as Biology, Home Economics, and LCVP modules in community care can provide a useful foundation, though the emphasis at entry level is on practical placement and interpersonal skills. Some workers progress to a QQI Level 6 Higher Certificate or a Level 7 Bachelor's degree in Health and Social Care, Community Development, or Social Care Practice at technological universities such as TU Dublin, ATU, or MTU. Social care practitioners working in regulated roles may be required to register with CORU (the Health and Social Care Professionals Council) as their scope of practice expands. Continuing professional development is encouraged throughout your career, and Springboard+ programmes offer upskilling pathways for those already in the workforce.
Most community health workers begin their careers in entry-level support roles within HSE Primary Care Teams, voluntary organisations, or community development projects after completing a QQI Level 5 award. With experience and further qualifications at Level 6 or 7, you may take on a more specialised or senior support role, focusing on areas such as addiction, mental health outreach, or maternal and child health. Progression to Level 8 study in Social Care Practice, Public Health, or Community Development can open pathways into supervisory, programme coordination, or management positions. Some workers move into policy development, health education, or roles with national organisations such as the HSE Health Promotion and Improvement directorate.
AI tools are beginning to support community health workers by automating routine administrative tasks such as appointment scheduling, record updating, and signposting clients to relevant services via digital platforms. Decision-support tools can help identify at-risk individuals within local populations, allowing workers to prioritise outreach more effectively. However, the core strengths of this role — building trust with vulnerable people, navigating complex social circumstances, and providing empathetic human connection — are not replaceable by AI. Technology is therefore likely to act as a helpful aid that frees up more time for direct community engagement rather than a threat to employment in this field.
→ Community Health Worker (Current role)
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Organisations in Ireland that employ people in this occupation.
Nationwide
Largest employer of community health workers across Ireland's regions.
Nationwide
Community health support for vulnerable families and children nationwide.
Nationwide
Deploys community health workers in disadvantaged areas to reduce health inequalities.
Dublin 1
Community health workers provide culturally sensitive outreach to Traveller communities.
Nationwide
Support workers visit older adults at home promoting health and wellbeing.
Dublin, Nationwide
Community health and social support for marginalised individuals and families.
Nationwide
Community support workers promote resident health and wellbeing in housing schemes.
Belfast and Republic of Ireland, Nationwide
Frontline workers support vulnerable communities with health and social care needs.
Cork City
Community health workers link hospital patients to local HSE community services.
Dublin 7
Community health outreach supporting asylum seekers and refugees with health needs.
Dublin City
Community health workers deliver wellbeing programmes in disadvantaged Dublin communities.
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