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.
