Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak briefly on the Sinn Féin Private Members' motion regarding pay for student nurses and midwives. The Covid-19 crisis has shone a spotlight on our health service and front-line workers. Last year, we had a number of debates and discussions on the issue of the pay and conditions of student nurses and midwives, who have been putting their lives on the line during this unprecedented global pandemic. On 10 December 2020, the Tánaiste said during Leaders' Questions:

I do think that student nurses should be paid where they are acting up, filling in for staff nurses or doing the work of staff nurses because wards or clinical areas are understaffed.

During oral parliamentary questions on the same date, in answer to a question from Deputy Gino Kenny on the cancellation of supervision for student placements, the Minister said that during the first surge of Covid-19 it was not possible to facilitate student placements from April onwards. This was due to the redeployment of staff, including senior nurses who would ordinarily be supervising the students. There was a particularly high rate of absenteeism and the directors of nursing in the HSE said they could not ensure clinical placements were protected. There were fears hospitals could be over-run. At the time, there were up to 900 Covid-19 patients in hospitals. Thankfully, the situation improved and, as of Sunday, 6 December, there were 232 patients in hospital. It is now 20 January 2021 and we are still in the grip of our expected third wave of the pandemic. On Monday of this week the number of people in hospitals with Covid-19 surpassed 2,000 with almost 200 in intensive care units throughout the country. There have been reports that approximately 7,000 healthcare workers were out of work due to Covid-19 and that people who were asymptomatic but identified as close contacts were told to come back to work in hospitals. The situation is far more dire than it was last year. Maybe the Minister will use that as an excuse for the supervision of student nurses to be curtailed as well as the rise in numbers.

The expression "all in this together" has been the mantra for the Government since the start of this unprecedented pandemic in March last year. However, "all in this together" has been found to have a hollow ring to it. As the business lobbyists pushed for the economy to be reopened despite ongoing health risks to the public, to our most vulnerable and to front-line workers, the Government ignored the advice of the National Public Health Emergency Team prior to Christmas. Ireland is now being used as a cautionary tale internationally for valuing business over health services and the health of the public.

The Government commissioned two reviews into the pay of student nurses and midwives. The form of this Government is to leak information before allowing for proper debate, scrutiny or discussion. We first heard about the recommendations of the review on pay for placements during the Covid-19 pandemic carried out by Dr. Tom Collins on RTÉ, where we see all business done in respect of the Dáil.

In the meantime, there are over 4,500 student nurses and midwives completing clinical placements that require them to work 12-hour shifts per day for no pay. The Government is reportedly to offer €100 per week payment based on this review. How can the Opposition, unions and interested parties examine this recommendation when we have not seen the review?

People putting their lives on the line might be given a €100 per week payment. At the same time, as has been said previously, the new Secretary General of the Department of Health is reportedly receiving a €81,000 pay rise, increasing the salary for this position to €292,000. Who sanctioned this? Where did this idea come from? Why is it being pursued when Mr. Watt has already been working as Secretary General in the interim? The Department said it was a highly complex role with a challenging brief, especially in the midst of a global pandemic. Was this increase requested as part of the contract negotiations? We need to know that.

Has the Secretary General of the Department been involved in the vaccination strategy? This week has seen reports of family members of hospital management, construction workers and others receiving leftover vaccinations. What involvement has the Secretary General and the Department had in the vaccination strategies?

I am also wondering about the €14.1 million paid out to a company called Roqu for ventilators from China that have not been and will not be used - a waste of vital resources. The Tánaiste talked recently about all these ventilators and said we have them but we do not have the personnel to use them. Was the Tánaiste referring to a warehouse full of usable ventilators? I understand that globally we have been experiencing an unprecedented pandemic, but it is amazing that such money can be found when deemed necessary within this Government.

While major pay increases are being discussed at Cabinet, like the Tories, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil last year encouraged the public to clap for our healthcare workers. Applause will not pay rent, put food on the table or pay for transport to and from work. Maybe the Minister could ask his landlord friends whether they would accept bualadh bos in lieu of the rent from their tenants who are student nurses and midwives. Rather than simply and simplistically applauding our front-line staff, we must support, appreciate and value our workers and listen to the unions. I saw a tweet the other day stating that Ireland responded more coherently to the Covid-19 pandemic at the start when we had no Government. The consistent undermining of people from within Government ranks has shown the public that we are most certainly not all in this together.

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