Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is time now to pay student nurses and midwives. A payment of €100 is an absolute insult to the hard work put in by student nurses on the front line. Student nurses and midwives did not go into hiding when they were called upon. They have put themselves at daily risk for the common good. They have gone above and beyond what they were asked to do. These students were working, they were needed to work and they should be paid for working. It is as simple as that. The €100 the Government has offered will not cover transport, lunches or childcare. It is an insight into how the Government values our student workers, and workers is what they are.

As Deputy Cullinane said, it is no wonder that so many are leaving our shores once they qualify. This is about fairness and €100 is an insult and just will not cut it. The decision to pay student nurses and midwives lies with the Minister for Health but the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, is also responsible for protecting students from exploitation. The two Ministers need to step up to the plate and pay student nurses and midwives now. There should be no more empty promises and no more delays. If my colleague, Deputy Cullinane, was Minister for Health, I have no doubt that he would pay student nurses and midwives now. The decision to suspend placements for student nurses is just another attempt to kick this issue down the road and muddy the waters. I spoke with students in my own area in Dublin Mid-West and they tell me that suspending student places does not make sense during a staffing crisis.

This motion also includes students who are performing essential pandemic-related work in hospital settings. This includes student radiographers, one of whom told me:

Every student radiographer, while on placement, has been face to face with Covid patients from day one. The first thing a Covid patient gets done when admitted to hospital is they get a chest X-ray.

Every day, our student radiographers go into Covid ICU units to take X-rays and they also take CT scans and assist physicians in ICU units if their assistance is required. We believe that any student performing pandemic-related work in hospitals during the Covid-19 period should be paid appropriately.

The initial review commissioned by the Minister falls short of the expectations and needs of student midwives. Moreover, the Minister chose not to examine the circumstances of other students who work in hospitals. We need to pay these student workers now. We need to do it without delay. We need to stop making excuses and get on with the job.

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