David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I think the Minister's response is disingenuous. We got a similar response from the Taoiseach in recent days. Let me be very clear that my party is certainly not looking for a return to the past or an apprenticeship programme. We are supporting the call from the INMO for fourth-year students to be paid the equivalent rate of a healthcare assistant and that there be a fair allowance for first-, second- and third-year students. One student who wrote to me commented that she was infuriated to read the statement from the Minister's party, which she referred to as an ignorant statement. She told me that since her initial placement as a student nurse in first year, she has provided care to many patients and that she knows for a fact that the wards would not function without the help of student nurses, regardless of what year they are in. There are hundreds of those student nurses, so I ask the Minister to not be disingenuous in responding to genuine concerns raised by my party and the INMO. We are not calling for a return to the past and we are not looking to go backwards. We are seeking fairness and a generous and fair allowance for those first-, second- and third-year student nurses.

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