Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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730. To ask the Minister for Health his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding payment of student nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40188/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Earlier this year, the Health Care Assistant initiative (whereby student nurses and midwives were offered temporary contracts to work as Health Care Assistants) began in April 2020 and ceased in August 2020.

This was in response to the Covid19 outbreak and was only ever intended as a temporary measure to provide additional support of to the national effort, it also offered some protection to the ongoing education of student nurses and midwives as their clinical placements had ceased. Student nurses and midwives who took part in this initiative received payment of the first point of the Health Care Assistant salary scale, €28,493. The rate was also temporarily applied to those 4th year nurses and midwives on paid work placements.

The regular pay for 4th year student nurses on paid internship increased by 2% on 1st October this year. The annualised salary for this group is now €21,749 (or €10.72 per hour) for general nursing and midwifery and €22,229 (€10.96 per hour) for psychiatric nursing.

My Department continues to engage with nursing unions on the concerns of Student Nurses at the present time.

My Department recently completed an interim review on the 19th November that confirmed the educational and welfare protections that are in place for those currently on placement. Finally, my Department is also currently reviewing allowances for student nurses on clinical placements and expects to conclude this review shortly.