Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A lot of progress has been made. We have worked closely with the INMO. This year we sanctioned over 870 staff to fulfil safe staffing in every hospital in the country. It has been suggested we legislate for those issues. I have taken advice from Irish and international experts on safe staffing and Ireland is now seen as one of the leading countries in the world on safe staffing. The advice I have is that we are not at a point where legislation would help because it is such a new process and we are still learning and evolving. We are in ongoing discussions with the INMO on this. As Bernard Gloster and I said at its conference earlier this year, it is not something we would rule out.

Some people claim that all our student nurses are leaving the country. That is an entirely false claim. I am not suggesting the Deputy is saying this but it is something one hears. Of course some graduates leave and go to Australia, Canada or wherever, as they should. I left here after a few years and I came home. However, the vast majority of graduates are taking jobs in the HSE. Ireland is not only blessed with one of the best, most professional, highly skilled and educated nursing workforces anywhere in the world now, but we now have the highest number of nurses per capitain the EU. We are going to keep working with the INMO to keep investing in the profession.

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