Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1077. To ask the Minister for Health the measures taken to allow nurses who do not have access to a personal computer or secure internet connections to pay their Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, retention fees; the measures taken to give nurses without access to printers proof of payment, as required by hospitals; if he has considered his Department paying the fee in recognition of the efforts of nurses during Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1743/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The 2021 annual registration renewal for nurses and midwives is underway online through the MyNMBI portal. The process can be undertaken on any device that allows access to the NMBI website, but to complete the initial process the registrant will need to have an email address. All other registration services can now be accessed on a mobile device.

My Department has been  informed by the NMBI that,  in certain circumstances, registrants who have no access to a personal computer or secure internet connection can request a paper form. Registrants can request the form via the NMBI helpline on 1890 200 116, or by posting their request to Registration Department, Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, 18-20 Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock, A94 R299. They can complete the form and return it with a postal order for the annual renewal fee. This material will then be manually entered into the system by NMBI staff who will  then issue a certificate to the registrant.

NMBI is an independent regulatory body established under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011. While my Department is responsible for the oversight and governance of the NMBI, I have no role in setting or approving fees. Under the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, the  NMBI is required to be self-financing, and the Annual Retention Fee is required to carry out their statutory obligations to protect the integrity of the practice of the professions of nursing and midwifery, and to protect the public. The annual retention fee was set by the NMBI in 2014 at €100 and is its main source of income in order to full these obligations.