Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I have said in reply to others, the Government is hugely committed to supporting the nursing and midwifery workforce. There are over 27,000 more staff working in our health system than there were at the beginning of 2020. That is a 23% increase over this period and includes more than 9,000 additional nurses and midwives. OECD statistical data shows that Ireland has more practising nurses per 1,000 of the population than nearly all other European countries and has the second highest among the reported EU countries.

When it comes to the wider framework that the Government has set out, €56 million has been provided to implement the safe staffing framework for nurses and healthcare assistants in our acute hospital system. Thousands of additional nurses were hired to support the framework. An additional 500 hires, for example, are in train for 2024. Once those 500 staff members are hired, that will help to support the wider framework as it is set out.

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