Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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734. To ask the Minister for Health the current HSE staffing levels in comparison to the previous peak of Covid-19 positive cases in hospitals in April 2020 (details supplied); his views on whether it is appropriate to repeat the same arrangements for student nurses and midwives currently on or soon to commence clinical placement given the current levels of positive cases that the healthcare system is trying to deal with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3849/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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At the end of April, there were 121,702 WTE employed by the HSE, which was an increase of 1,885 WTE from the end of 2019. At the end of the December, the health sector workforce had a total of 126,174 WTE. This is an increase of 6,357 WTE since the end of December 2019.

With a staffing complement of 100k plus, HSE has a well-developed and professional HR function. At any given time therefore, senior management within HSE is best placed to determine the type of staff it needs across all areas and disciplines.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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735. To ask the Minister for Health the rostered members of staff who are remunerated within an agreed salary for final year interns; his reasons for not providing them with an increased salary equal to the rate that interns were offered in spring 2020 for the duration of their rostered internship particularly given the significant increase in hospitalisations since that time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3850/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The regular pay for 4th year student nurses on paid internship increased by 2% on 1 October 2020. 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.

In relation to spring 2020, all student nurses and midwives were offered temporary contracts to work as Health Care Assistants. 4th year student nurses and midwives on paid internship had their contracts augmented as part of that temporary initiative. This Health Care Assistant (HCA) initiative began in April 2020 and ceased in August 2020 and was only ever intended as a temporary measure to provide additional support to the national effort in response to the initial impact of the Covid19 outbreak.

The recently commissioned report by Professor Collins examined the possibility of re-opening the HCA initiative. I remain committed to keeping the HCA option available to the HSE, should the circumstances require it. My Department and the HSE are continuing to engage on what suitable resourcing supports the HSE may require. Since spring 2020, substantial financial resources have been provided to the HSE to recruit additional staff needed to support its work during this pandemic. The Department remains committed to providing these resources as required by the HSE into 2021.

As part of the HSE's staffing requirements, should it seek a re-opening of the HCA initiative as suitable to its resourcing needs, my Department stand ready to assist.