Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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502. To ask the Minister for Health to respond to concerns raised in (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44704/23]

Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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504. To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware foreign nurses currently working as healthcare assistants in Ireland who meet the UK's nursing and midwifery council's English language qualifications do not currently meet the English qualifications in Ireland; if it will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44708/23]

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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542. To ask the Minister for Health if he is aware of the very significant number of overseas fully qualified nurses who can only work as carers, because of a deficiency in their English fluency; and if he has considered how these persons could be supported to resume full nursing roles after a period in Ireland; and if he is aware of the claim that the standard of fluency in English required is higher here than in the UK; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44894/23]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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574. To ask the Minister for Health for clarification on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45078/23]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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589. To ask the Minister for Health if, in light of the shortage of nurses, if the granting of NMBI nursing registration will be considered, after the successful completion of adaptation training or RCSI aptitude test, to those healthcare assistants with a nursing degree/diploma from their home country and who have been working in Ireland for at least two years; if he will acknowledge that most of those working as carers will qualify for Irish nursing registration if the NMBI accepts the English language qualifications prescribed by the UK's Nursing Authority for foreign nurses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45164/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 502, 504, 542, 574, 589 and 609 together.

As the Deputies will be aware, all nurses and midwives who practise in Ireland must be registered on the Register of Nurses and Midwives, maintained by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).

The NMBI are the independent, statutory body which sets the standards for the education of nurses and midwives in Ireland and have a legislated function to protect the public.

In completing this function, rigorous evaluation of information and thorough regulatory checks are required when processing applications from those who want to register to practise in Ireland.

To register to become a nurse or midwife, all applicants need to complete a two-stage process:

1. Recognition of Qualifications

2. Registration.

In the first stage, Recognition of Qualifications, an NMBI Education Assessor will assess evidence of the applicant’s education, qualifications, and credentials against the NMBI standards and requirements to practise in Ireland. Once the application has been assessed as satisfactory, a Decision Letter will issue from the NMBI.

Where the NMBI identifies a deficit between the applicant’s education, qualifications, and credentials against the NMBI’s Standards and Requirements, the Decision Letter will inform the applicant that there is a requirement to complete a ‘compensation measure’. These compensation measures are either a paid period of adaptation placement or an aptitude test; these are mechanisms which allow an applicant to demonstrate their competency to meet the NMBI’s Standards and Requirements for registration. Once the applicant has successfully completed the compensation measure, the recognition process is complete, and they can apply for registration.

As part of the registration process, all registration applicants must demonstrate to the NMBI that they have the necessary proficiency in English to communicate effectively and safely in their practise. The NMBI provides three routes for applicants to demonstrate their English language competency:

Pathway 1: Educated through English in an NMBI-recognised country; or educated through English in an EU country where English is a listed official language

Pathway 2: Registered and Practised in English in an NMBI-recognised country

Pathway 3: Completion of an English language test approved by the NMBI

For many overseas educated applicants, this means taking an English language test and submitting a certificate of test results. The NMBI recognises both the International English Language Test System (IELTS) and Occupational English Test (OET) as verified test providers. IELTS and OET are valid for two years across all Irish regulators and Canadian, Australian, American and UK regulators. This is also the standard validation period across immigration services internationally.

These language tests are carried out by independent third parties, internationally recognised for providing rigorous and evidence-based professional or occupational English testing, specifically for healthcare professionals. Tests can be taken in Ireland, or nearly all other countries.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the U.K. and NMBI have very similar English qualification standards. The NMC will accept an IETLS score with a minimum of 7.0 for reading, listening, and speaking, and at least 6.5 for writing. The NMC will also accept the OET (Nursing) test result that confirms an applicant achieved at least grade B (350 or above) for reading, listening, and speaking, and at least grade C+ (300 or above) for writing.

The NMC may accept supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English from an applicants’ current employer in the UK if an applicant has taken IELTS or OET at least twice and missed the required scores in any one of the domains by no more than 0.5 (half a grade). The NMC have specific criteria around the use of supplementary evidence of clinical competence in English; it is not standalone evidence, and they are not seeking to expand this at the moment.

The NMBI will accept an overall IELTS score of 7.0 with a minimum of 7.0 in any three components and 6.5 in any one component. The components are writing, reading, listening and speaking. The NMBI will also accept the OET (Nursing) test result with Grade B (350-450) in three components and C+ (300 – 340) in one component. The NMBI do not impose a limit to the number of times an applicant can sit the IELTS or OET and the approach accepted by the NMBI is not prescriptive, in relation to scoring across the components, to allow flexibility for candidates.

Along with the NMBI, as the regulator for the professions of nursing and midwifery, I welcome registration applications from those that were educated overseas. I would like to acknowledge the significant contribution that overseas healthcare service employees provide. I am hugely committed to supporting the nursingand midwiferyworkforce andensuring a stable and sustainable nursing and midwifery workforce is a priority for me. My Department is engaging with the NMBI to explore this matter further.