Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We do. I wish to apologise because I know that the Deputy was one of the signatories to that Private Members' motion. I received it last Friday and worked on a response to it in the Department over the weekend and I talked to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, about exactly what we could put in place. I put in a lot of work but, unfortunately, I could not attend. I wanted to be in the Chamber today and partake in the debate but there was an annual EU health ministers meeting that I could not get out of. I had to be there, for obvious reasons, so I apologise for not attending the debate.

As the Deputy will know from the countermotion, we have secured an exemption to allow student nurses access to the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. One of the things that the INMO quite rightly put to me was that there are student nurses who do not qualify for PUP because a job still exists but the nurses cannot take it up. Students who were working in a shop or bar that had to close are entitled to PUP because that job is not there. However, some student nurses found themselves in a position whereby their job still existed, the agency was still hiring or the care home was still taking people in, but, for obvious reasons related to Covid-19, those nurses could not possibly be working in a hospital during the week and a nursing home at the weekend. There were infection prevention reasons that could not happen. I did not think that was fair at all so we have secured an exemption for these students if they can show any loss of earnings. Anyone who can say they were earning money and are not any more will get PUP, and this exemption applies only to them. I have also secured a commitment that any healthcare costs associated with getting sick at work will be covered.

The INMO was keen for an independently verified review to take place which would not just reflect the Department's view of the world. The INMO wants a meaningful input into that report. We have agreed with all of that and I think those measures are all in the countermotion. I want the INMO to input to the review. I want independent verification of the report and we will then publish it. It will happen in a matter of weeks.