Mandatory Training for Healthcare Staff in Ireland: The Complete Guide

Mandatory training for healthcare staff in Ireland covers a lot of ground: online modules assigned through the HSE's portal, practical skills such as resuscitation, and role-specific topics such as infection prevention and control. This guide is for managers, HR teams, staff and students in hospitals, nursing homes, disability services, home support and primary care who want one place to start, in Dublin or anywhere else in Ireland.

It summarises three of our detailed posts: our explainer on HSeLanD and mandatory training, our guide to basic life support (BLS) training, and our guide to infection prevention and control training. We describe only what those posts say. Your employer's policy and the relevant regulator or HSE pages decide what applies to you.

How to use this guide

• Start with the HSeLanD section if you are new to the system or are an employer trying to work out who has to complete what.
• Go to the BLS section if you are checking resuscitation expectations for a clinical or care role.
• Go to the infection prevention and control section if you want to see how it differs from hand hygiene alone.
• Note the dates. The three posts each show an update date of 21 September 2026. Policies and employer requirements change, so confirm current rules locally.

Statutory, mandatory and role-specific training

A useful distinction, drawn in our HSeLanD post, is between training required by law (the post gives child protection obligations as an example) and training required by HSE internal policy, usually to manage risk to patients, service users or staff. The post adds that the HSE's guidance says such training is free to staff, counts as working time and should preferably take place in working hours, and that responsibility for making sure staff complete this training sits primarily with line managers.

Our own reading, not a distinction drawn in the posts: some training, such as BLS and infection prevention and control, is coordinated locally or set at employer or role level rather than appearing on the HSE core e-learning list. The BLS post notes that resuscitation training is not on the HSE's core mandatory e-learning list and is coordinated locally, and the infection prevention post says requirements vary by employer and role. This is why a single national checklist rarely tells the whole story.

HSeLanD: the platform behind much mandatory training

Our HSeLanD post explains that HSeLanD (Health Service e-Learning and Development) is the HSE's national online learning and development portal. It is relevant to HSE staff in hospital and community settings, to staff of Section 38 and Section 39 organisations, and to students on health placements.

The post lists the core modules it identifies: Children First, Dignity at Work, open disclosure, cyber security awareness and hand hygiene, and refers to other groupings such as GDPR, health and safety, safeguarding of adults at risk and fire safety. It describes how staff register and use a personal dashboard, how certificates can usually be downloaded, and how managers and local HR see completion data for compliance reporting alongside checks such as Garda vetting and professional registration.

Who should read it: new starters, managers, HR teams and agency or voluntary-sector staff who need to produce completion certificates at onboarding. The post defers renewal periods and deadlines to HSE policy and employers, and so do we.

Basic life support: what the post covers

Our BLS training post explains that BLS is hands-on, instructor-led training in resuscitation skills and defibrillator use, which it says is usually a condition of employment or professional registration for healthcare staff. It attributes the curriculum description to the Irish Heart Foundation and reports that the course is practical, ends with a skills check and short written assessment, and cannot be completed entirely online.

The post also distinguishes BLS from advanced life support and from the PHECC Cardiac First Response levels, which it says are geared toward pre-hospital and ambulance-grade practice and occupational responder roles. It reports that the Irish Heart Foundation card is valid for two years, and it notes that individual employers can set their own local policy on top of that validity. For most hospital, nursing home and care roles, the post says, employers ask for BLS rather than PHECC CFR, and where a job advert is unclear you should ask the employer.

Who should read it: nurses, healthcare assistants, care workers and allied health professionals checking what their role needs, and managers planning refresher cycles. The post gives general information on training, not clinical guidance.

Infection prevention and control: more than hand hygiene

Our infection prevention and control post presents hand hygiene as one pillar of a wider system. It describes standard precautions that apply to every patient, then transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet and airborne), the role of risk assessment in choosing personal protective equipment, the importance of donning and doffing sequences, and the HSE standards for decontamination of reusable equipment.

It also touches on outbreaks and isolation and on the legal notification of certain infectious diseases, citing the Infectious Diseases Regulations and the HPSC list. In its FAQ it says whether IPC training is mandatory varies by employer and role, that IPC is treated as core ongoing training across the HSE, and that HSeLanD provides dedicated courses.

Who should read it: staff in any setting from acute hospitals to home care, and managers who want to see how IPC training fits with hand hygiene, manual handling and safeguarding. It is a workforce and compliance overview, not clinical instruction.

Putting it together for your service

Our suggestion: build a simple matrix of roles against training types. Use one column for items assigned through HSeLanD, one for practical skills such as BLS and manual handling, and one for role-specific topics such as IPC. Record the renewal rule you have confirmed for each item and where the evidence is stored. Review it when policies change and at induction, and make sure agency and voluntary-sector staff can produce certificates when asked, as the HSeLanD post notes they often must.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Is HSeLanD only for HSE employees?

Our HSeLanD post says it is also relevant to Section 38 and Section 39 organisations and to students on health placements. Check with your employer or placement coordinator which modules are assigned to you.

Is BLS part of the HSE's core mandatory e-learning?

According to our BLS post, it is not on the core e-learning list, and resuscitation training is coordinated locally. Your employer will say whether you need it and how often.

How often must mandatory training be renewed?

The posts defer to HSE policy and employer requirements, with the BLS post noting a two-year card validity from the Irish Heart Foundation. Confirm the interval locally.

Is infection prevention and control training mandatory?

Our IPC post says this varies by employer and role, while describing IPC as core ongoing training across the HSE. Ask your manager or HR team.

Where do I start if I manage a mixed team?

Start with the HSeLanD post to understand the assigned modules, then add role-specific items from the BLS and IPC posts.

In short, mandatory training is a mix of assigned modules, practical skills and role-specific topics, so confirm each requirement with your employer and keep your evidence in order.