Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Henry for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I had the honour of opening the schools of nursing at Dundalk Institute of Technology and Trinity College on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children. They are the only two schools of nursing I have opened. I do not want to trespass too far into the issue raised by the Senator.

I am responding to Senator Henry on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children. The Senator has asked for an update on the implementation of the recommendations of the expert group on midwifery and children's nursing education in relation to midwifery. The expert group, which presented its report to the Tánaiste in late December 2004, was established in September of that year to develop a comprehensive strategy for the future of midwifery and children's nursing. Its establishment followed the introduction in 2002 of a four-year undergraduate degree programme in general psychiatric and intellectual disability nursing. The report's major recommendation was for the introduction of a four-year undergraduate midwifery programme offering 140 places per annum. The report recommended that postgraduate courses for midwifery be transferred to the higher education institutions. When the Tánaiste welcomed the expert group's report, she made it clear that while it is intended that both programmes will commence in autumn 2006, she is concerned about the scale of the additional costs of the implementation of the two programmes, having regard to the significant resources in place to support nursing education.

The Government has provided for capital investment of over €240 million for the provision of purpose-built infrastructure for undergraduate nursing students, including state-of-the-art clinical skills and human science laboratories. Having seen the facilities at Trinity College, in the old gas company property, and at Dundalk Institute of Technology, I assure the House that they would repay visitation. The outstanding facilities in Dundalk include a simulated accident and emergency section. I appreciate that such facilities do not pertain to midwifery. The Department of Health and Children is in negotiations with the higher education institutions representing the universities and the institutes of technology about reducing the cost of the transfer of midwifery and children's nursing education to the third level sector. The Department has consulted the Department of Education and Science, the Higher Education Authority and the Health Service Executive about the issue.

I would like to give the House details of the developments which have taken place since it was given an update on the implementation of the recommendations in the expert group's report on 5 October last. Negotiations with the higher education institutes have progressed and are well advanced. The Tánaiste is not in a position to give the House further details, however, as the negotiations are ongoing. As she has said previously, she hopes that the negotiations will offer a way forward for the introduction of the direct entry midwifery and integrated children's general nursing degree programmes in the autumn of next year.