I propose to take Questions Nos. 107 and 172 together.
The Health Service Employers Agency undertook a survey of nursing vacancies at 31 October 2001. A copy of this survey will be forwarded directly to the Deputy.
While all sectors reported that recruitment was well ahead of resignations-retirement, employers reported that 1,322 vacancies existed at 31 October 2001. These circumstances arise where the volume of additional nursing posts being created outstrips capacity to recruit. The combination of utilising agency nurses and overtime working provides the equivalent of around 1,150 full-time nurses to the service to cope with difficulties arising in the provision of services while employers continue the recruitment process to fill vacancies.
A major recruitment and retention initiative, costing in excess of £5 million or €6.35 million, was launched by me on 29 November 2000 to address the present shortage of nurses and midwives. In particular a scheme of flexible working arrangements for nurses and midwives in the public health service came into operation on 1 February 2001. Under the scheme nurses and midwives may apply to work between eight and 39 hours per week on a permanent part-time basis.
As part of my overall recruitment-retention strategy, I have introduced the following financial support for nurses and midwives undertaking post-registration educational courses: payment of fees to nurses-midwives undertaking part-time nursing and certain other undergraduate degree courses; improved scheme of financial support for student public health nurses; enhanced financial support package for student midwives and student paediatric nurses; payment of fees and enhanced salary to nurses-midwives undertaking courses in specialised areas of clinical practice; abolition of fees for back-to-practice courses and payment of salary to nurses-midwives undertaking such courses; financial support to State enrolled nurses working in the health service wishing to undertake nursing conversion programmes in the United Kingdom.
The ongoing recruitment of nurses from abroad is also impacting positively on the vacancy problem. A total of 2,576 working visas-work authorisations were issued to nurses from non EU countries between June 2000 and December 2001.
My Department is also engaged in strategic planning through the study of the nursing and midwifery resource. The focus of this work is on long-term planning. The primary objective of the study is to forecast, as far as is possible, future nursing and midwifery workforce needs. An interim report was published in October 2000 and widely circulated within the health services. The final report is due to be published in April.
On 1 November 2001, I launched the new four year undergraduate pre-registration nursing degree programme commencing in 2002.