Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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467. To ask the Minister for Health if he will publish the request from the HSE regarding the suspension of student nurse placements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3464/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Following a request from the HSE on 15 January, 2020 to release senior, qualified staff to provide direct patient care in the current COVID-19 surge, supernumerary clinical placements for student nurses and midwives were suspended for 1st to 3rd year students for at least two weeks from Monday, 18 January. The request was directly related to the increasing demand across the health service particularly on critical care. In that context the requirement at this time was to maximise the numbers of qualified staff. The staff that support clinical placements for student nurses and midwives are experienced senior nurses with the skills and knowledge to assist with the current COVID 19 demand.

My Department is now working together with the HSE, the Higher Education Institutes, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland and Clinical Partners to ensure that students will not be disadvantaged in terms of completing their educational programmes on time.

Regarding the question of publishing the HSE request, my Department does not routinely publish communications between it and the HSE in the performance of their respective functions, as this would be inappropriate, and impact on both organisations' ability to function effectively. It is not intended to publish the HSE's request.