Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion. We are facing into another winter in which our hospitals will be overrun and the reality of the Covid crisis must be faced. We need to start getting vaccine boosters to front-line staff. I welcome the announcement in that regard by the Minister last night. Healthcare workers must be protected. He will be judged on his actions in the next few weeks and he needs to deliver on the commitments given.

Student nurses have been promised the sun, moon and stars by the Government. The Minister has been saying all the right things about improving their pay and conditions but, as always, action speaks louder than words. In fact, he has sat on his hands and delayed improvements for student nurses at every opportunity. They are all too aware that they are not the top priority, but the Government is making sure there is no doubt left in their minds in that regard. We are calling for the publication of the McHugh review, which has been sitting on the Minister's desk for weeks. It is time that report was made public. There is much talk about bringing proposals to Cabinet this week. However, looking at what was leaked to the media today, those proposals will not come close to meeting student nurses' requests, particularly for first-, second- and third-year students. It is a pity the Minister did not engage with their unions on these matters.

The current situation is completely unfair and it has gone on for far too long. Student nurses deserve fair allowances that reflect the hard work they do to keep our hospitals moving. This applies to all student nurses, not just those in their final year. Anything short of an improvement for all of them is unacceptable. I hope the Minister will see sense on this.

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