Ms Phil Ní Sheaghdha:

On the issue of student nurses the INMO met with the Department of Health last Friday. We put a proposal to them and the Department has confirmed they will revert to us this week. We await their reply on that. Our proposal is very simple. At our conference last Friday week the Minister confirmed that a review will be conducted of the undergraduate payment scheme in general. That was promised by the former Minister, Deputy Harris in 2019. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has confirmed that the review will be completed within the next month. In the immediate term, we have sought payment. It is work, but unfortunately the students find themselves in very busy wards in very busy workplaces where staff are reduced and the qualified staff members are reducing. The students are being used to fill gaps, as I said earlier. It is the view of the INMO that these student nurses need the protection of a contract and they need to have the protections of all other workers in those environments in the event that they get sick, which I hope they do not.