Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 October 2022
579. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health his views on matters raised in correspondence (details supplied) in relation to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47964/22]
View answerUnder 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, including their registration. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the NMBI has confirmed to my Department that all nurses and midwives from overseas applying to join the Register do so through the digital portal, MyNMBI. This system, which was introduced in 2020, digitised the recognition and registration process for all applicants and registrants. As a result, all overseas applicants upload their documentation to the portal and the documentation is then assessed by NMBI.
As the Deputy may be aware, the NMBI has a number of statutory obligations to protect the public in its dealings with nurses and midwives and to protect the integrity of the practice of the professions of nursing and midwifery. Maintaining a high level of scrutiny in the assessment of registration applications is an essential element of this protection. In all cases, it is necessary for NMBI to secure independent verification from overseas regulators. Some of these regulators issue the required documents in hardcopy format only, by posting directly to NMBI. It is necessary therefore, in these limited circumstances, that the digitised system has the flexibility to allow documents to be uploaded manually. The digitised system, MyNMBI, has facilitated the processing of an increasing number of overseas applications which has resulted in more nurses and midwives joining the Irish healthcare sector.
