Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a matter on which I will follow up. The Deputy has a particular interest in it and has raised it with me many times.

Regarding the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, nine additional staff have been provided to accelerate the application process and a new call centre has been established, allowing staff to concentrate on processing the applications instead of having to take calls. The call centre seems to be working well. There has been a doubling in the number of nurses applying to register this year, which may surprise people who constantly hear the contrary narrative. The number of nurses seeking to register - those who are newly graduated, from overseas or returning to Ireland - has increased by 122%, which has put the board under a great deal of pressure.

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