Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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1506. To ask the Minister for Health if his Department will liaise with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland with a view to issuing a refund to front-line nurses who have once again been forced to pay their €100 registration fee, despite a difficult period of work for the sector. [63455/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Nurses and Midwives Act, 2011,  the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) is  responsible for the regulation of nurses and midwives in Ireland.  While my Department has  responsibility for oversight and governance matters regarding the NMBI, I have no role in setting or approving fees.

The 2011 Act requires the NMBI to be self-financing, and the income from the Annual Retention Fee is required to carry out its statutory obligations to protect the public in its dealings with nurses and midwives and to protect the integrity of the practice of nursing and midwifery. The current annual retention fee is  €100 and is unchanged since 2014. This fee is NMBI's main source of income.