Do right thing on student nurses’ pay, Government told

HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly has briefed the Cabinet on a report on student nurses which advocates they be paid €100 a week.

The Collins report also advises against replacing student nurse placements with offers to work as healthcare assistants, despite calls to do so from the Irish Nurse and Midwife Organisation (INMO).

It is understood that it was decided at the last minute not to bring the full report to Cabinet yesterday to allow for a longer review.

The Government had introduced a mechanism whereby student nurses were offered roles as healthcare assistants for several months at the height of the last Covid-19 wave. The report says this scheme should be maintained for emergency circumstances but should not replace nurses placements or internships. However, the INMO has criticised the Collins report – carried out in December before wave three hit – for ‘no longer reflects reality in health service’. ‘The Collins report heard testimony in December, but INMO student representatives say that the frontline situation has changed completely since then,’ an INMO statement read.

INMO general secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, pleaded with the Health Minister to ‘do the right thing’ on student nurses’ pay.

She said: ‘Offer the students contracts as healthcare assistants to boost staffing and move up interns’ pay to reflect their new workloads and risks.’

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane will bring a motion to the Dáil today ‘to ensure student nurses and midwives receive fair pay’. Deputy Cullinane said: ‘The Government’s proposal of €100 per week does not cut it.’