Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is deliberately dishonest in her presentation of the story and the narrative. There was a delay for the great and the good. It was a long delay. If the Deputy had had her way, there would have been less of a delay, given her desire to reverse FEMPI a long time ago. She knows that, but she chooses not to say it. She also has refused and ignored my central point. She says that we cannot have an alibi, but it is not an alibi. She has to make up her mind about how we can create a learning environment for nursing in the modern era. I do not believe it is right that nursing degree students should have to do menial tasks left, right and centre outside their clinical placements and I do not believe the health service has to depend on a six-week clinical placement for first year students or second year students to support the service. Personnel nurse managers are employed and specifically paid to ring-fence students from having to work and ensure that they are learning while in the hospitals. Fourth year nursing students get paid. That is also being reviewed in terms of looking at an upward increase. The Deputy knows and should say that no first year student should be treating a Covid patient. No second year student should either. Nor should they be rostered for night duty.

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