Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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282. To ask the Minister for Health the number of external consultants employed on a full-time basis by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI; and the levels within the organisation at which these consultants work. [11576/19]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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283. To ask the Minister for Health the annual staff turnover in the NMBI since 2011; and the turnover rate at each level of the organisation. [11577/19]

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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284. To ask the Minister for Health the number of agency staff employed in the NMBI in each year since 2011; and the percentage of total staff represented by agency staff in the case of each year. [11578/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 282 to 284, inclusive, together.

As these questions refer to operational matters, they has been referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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285. To ask the Minister for Health the number of protected disclosures lodged by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, staff being investigated. [11579/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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All protected disclosures submitted to my Department are given due attention in keeping with the Department's protected disclosures policy and procedures and in accordance with the requirements under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. Given that all protected disclosures must be treated as confidential, it would not be appropriate for me to provide this information.

Annual Reports detailing the number of protected disclosures received between 2015 and 2017 are available on the Department's website. The Report for 2018 will be published no later than 30th June 2019.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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286. To ask the Minister for Health the status of progress toward the publication of revised legislation in an area (details supplied). [11580/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland is required, as are all state bodies, to comply with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. The Code is designed by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure the highest standards of corporate governance in State Bodies.

The report referred to by the Deputy was a full organisational review of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. It contained a number of recommendations, one of which was that the Department of Health should assess whether legislative changes are required in order to make the Fitness to Practice process more effective.

The recently published Regulated Health Professionals (Health and Social Care)(Amendment) Bill 2019 proposes a number of amendments to the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011 Act aimed at achieving this.

Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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287. To ask the Minister for Health the changes made to the size and make-up of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, board since the publication of a report in 2015 (details supplied). [11581/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The composition of the Board is set out in the Nurses and Midwifes Act 2011. The membership is set to ensure the Board reflects the range of skills, competencies and experience required to enable it to fulfil its statutory obligations.

The report referred to by the Deputy was a full organisational review of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland. It contained a number of recommendations, one of which was that the Department of Health review the legislation governing the NMBI and consider a reduction in the size of the NMBI Board.

The membership of the Board is in line with other regulators under the aegis of this Department and, furthermore, has 23 members which is 21% less than that of its predecessor, An Board Altranais. In light of this, while the recommendation has not yet been progressed, it remains under review within the constrains of the pressing legislative demands of this Department.