Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to briefly contribute to this debate as this Bill will bring fundamental changes to the way nurses and midwives go about their business. The profession is often taken for granted, as it was in the past. As previous speakers have mentioned, Irish nursing has always had a good reputation not just within Ireland but internationally. There has always been a big demand for Irish-trained nurses around the world and we must recognise the contribution of religious orders over many years in upholding that reputation, as they formed a big part of how nursing was portrayed in Ireland.

The profession, particularly midwifery and specialised nursing areas, changes on an almost daily basis. There are new medical techniques, medications and treatments almost weekly and nursing plays a significant part in how those treatments are presented to people. People are very vulnerable in hospital, especially in maternity cases, and patients expect and deserve the highest standards. This Bill will ensure transparency and accountability in the profession for the patients and those using the services of nurses and midwives. At the same time it will provide adequate protection to those professionals providing the service, which is a key element of the Bill. It will ensure protection on both sides of the equation as there will be adequate coverage in how a patient is treated while protecting the professionals.

There are very strong requirements under the Bill relating to regulation and governance which cover nursing in general and the midwifery area in particular. The protection exists for both clients and practitioners through the new requirements. For example, there must be adequate insurance and there are stringent prohibitions on unregistered nurses. There is an adequate registration process with a constant review, which is a key element. Ongoing review of how nurses are trained and educated, and how they fulfil daily duties, is a fundamental part of the Bill.

The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, mentioned in her speech that the educational requirements for nursing have changed drastically over a number of years. The introduction of degree qualifications and ongoing training and education while in the job has led to people being highly experienced and qualified, particularly in the specialist areas of nursing. The nursing profession today is a far cry from the days when nurses were not given proper recognition and treated differently. People took the service for granted and patients automatically assumed that only a basic service was provided by nurses.

The changes from the past number of years have ensured that nurses in particular, along with midwives, get recognition of the importance of their service. That has come about as a direct result of the change in the educational requirements in the professions. This Bill further enhances the opportunities for the recognition of those qualifications, specifically by ensuring that employers and management in hospitals are obliged to facilitate nurses and midwives in maintaining their professional competence.

It has always been an issue with nurses that if they wanted to go for promotion or change specialties, in many cases they had to do it in their own time. The job is stressful and onerous enough without that. This legislation will ensure that those with responsibility, including the HSE, will be obliged to facilitate ongoing training and educational opportunities for nurses and midwives. That will be a significant improvement to the service.

The spotlight has usually only been put on the nursing profession when there was a particularly nasty case of malpractice or abuse ending up in the media. As a result of the highly personal nature of nursing, staff often find themselves in a position where they are open to false accusations while patients suffer due to incompetence.

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