Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach. He will remember during Covid there was a huge discussion around student midwives and nurses and the work that was being done. It was said at that point that the work was not being adequately recognised and compensated. I just think it is really problematic that we are back in a space where young students of nursing and midwifery feel again that they are not being recognised or valued. The last thing we want is these young professionals feeling they are not valued within the Irish health system and making a decision to make their contribution in Perth or Toronto or wherever that might be. The case brought to the attention of Deputy Farrell is by no means an isolated incident. This is a widespread experience. In fact, many of the students are now talking about organising for demonstrations and bringing political pressure to bear, and rightly so. We have a proposal for a €3,000 bursary. We would like to discuss that with the Taoiseach. We hope he will adopt it, not least because we will be heading into elections very soon, as he informs us.

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