John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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158. To ask the Minister for Health if contracts of employment will be offered to all 11 2017 mental health nurse graduates who wish to remain in County Kerry (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42121/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that all 2017 nursing and midwifery graduates will be offered permanent contracts by the HSE. These offers will be subject to the usual recruitment requirements. Nursing and midwifery recruitment and retention is a priority for the Government and officials in my Department are liaising with the HSE on a weekly basis to review progress on the appointment of nursing graduates.

These contracts are being offered as part of the 2017 Nursing and Midwifery Agreement, reached with the INMO and SIPTU. This Agreement has a particular focus on addressing recruitment and retention of nursing and midwifery posts. It has committed to put in place an additional 1,224 nursing and midwifery posts across the public health service by the end of December 2017. Very extensive and detailed work has been sustained throughout 2017 to implement the Agreement.

Each Hospital or Community Healthcare Organisation is making offers to the 2017 nursing and midwifery graduates who undertake their clinical placement in their location. Every effort is being made to accommodate the graduate nurses and midwives in their preferred locations. Where a Hospital or CHO area is unable to offer places to all graduates, then the remaining graduates are offered places in the respective Hospital Group or an alternative CHO location, as appropriate.

I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly with the specific data sought in the question.