Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

A top Government priority is to protect and support the education of all students. Regarding student nurses and midwives, an important consideration for this group is the specific requirement to undertake mandatory clinical placement which comprises 50% of the overall nursing and midwife education programme requirements. Mandatory supernumerary practice placements occur for 45 weeks from year 1 of the programme right through to the first semester of year 4, where it is 50%. These students are not employees and are additional to the workforce in a learning capacity and therefore are not paid. They learn under the supervision of a registered nurse or midwife, and while they learn through practice, they are not accountable for patient care.

Following approval by the Government on 13 December 2022, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly was pleased to announce €9 million in additional supports for student nurses and midwives. The sum of €5.4 million was used to introduce the enhanced travel and subsistence scheme for eligible students while attending their supernumerary clinical practice placements. This scheme is governed by the Department of Health circular 4/2023. This scheme provides a targeted and more equitable approach to support these students, and its main features are that eligible student nurses and midwives in years 1 to 3 of their studies will each receive €500 per year as a targeted measure to contribute towards meeting the extra costs of meals associated with practice placements outside the student’s core placement site; and a new rate of €80 for overnight accommodation is being introduced along with an increased weekly cap of €300 for those eligible supernumerary students who require accommodation away from their normal place of residence while attending practice placements. This weekly cap is three times the cap that was introduced on 1 January 2022 and almost six times the previous caps.

Supernumerary students requiring overnight accommodation will also be able to avail of, on a vouched basis, the reasonable cost of uniform laundry services.These students will continue to be entitled to a refund of the cost of transport for placements on a vouched basis. The HSE has informed the Minister that these payments have commenced in a number of areas. The Department will continue to engage with the HSE to ensure all eligible students receive the allowances due. The Senator can see that the process has commenced but has not yet been finalised. It is ongoing.

For student nurses and midwives in their final year of internship, the Minister has ensured that their salaries are in line with the relevant recommendation in the McHugh report by increasing their rate of pay to 80% of point 1 of the staff nurse-midwives pay scale. This is governed by the Department of Health in circular 1/2023, which was issued on 30 January last. This measure is worth €3.6 million and demonstrates further the Government's commitment to retaining students in our nursing and midwifery degree programmes. Students will also be provided with two additional uniforms at the start of their internships.

There is a well-established funded clinical support infrastructure to ensure that the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland's undergraduate standards and requirements are met. I will complete my address after the Senator responds.