Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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675. To ask the Minister for Health if there are any plans at European Union level to review and update the various EU nursing directives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6836/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Along with the professions of midwife, doctor, pharmacist and dentist, Registered General Nurse (RGN) is one of the five health professions falling within the scope of the European Union’s automatic recognition system. The relevant legislation obliges member states to comply with minimum training standards as set out in the Professional Qualifications Directive. Officials in my Department liaise closely with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) with regard to nursing training and education and considerations regarding the potential updating of nursing qualification criteria.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) is the national coordinator for the Professional Qualifications Directive. DFHERIS also sits on the Group of Coordinators for the recognition of professional qualifications which meets quarterly to discuss the Professional Qualifications Directive and officials from my Department also attend meetings of the Group of Coordinators.

The European Commission keeps the Professional Qualifications Directive under review and engages with the Group of Coordinators in this regard. The Group of Coordinators is due to meet next in March and the meeting agenda includes an item on the update of minimum training requirements of sectoral professions.