Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 194: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the reason student nurses attending Trinity and affiliated to St. James's Hospital have not been awarded their travel allowances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19156/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The travel allowance to which the Deputy refers is the external clinical placement allowance, which was introduced to assist undergraduate nursing students undertaking external clinical placements. Nursing students on the undergraduate nursing degree programme are entitled to a refund of the cost of transport to and from the clinical placement site for the duration of the placement.

Payment of this allowance is the responsibility of the hospital to which the student is affiliated, in this case St. James's Hospital, and funding has been provided to the hospitals by my Department. I understand that the up-to-date position at St. James's Hospital is that payments have been made to many of the students. St. James's Hospital has issued reminders to a number of the remaining students who still have to furnish some details. When these details have been received, the outstanding allowances can be processed.