Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
780. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Health if his attention been drawn to the petition from an organisation (details supplied) to pay nursing interns the same rate as healthcare assistants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40510/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraEarlier this year, the Health Care Assistant initiative (whereby student nurses and midwives were offered temporary contracts to work as Health Care Assistants) began in April 2020 and ceased in August 2020. This was in response to the Covid19 outbreak and was only ever intended as a temporary measure to provide additional support to the national effort, it also offered some protection to the ongoing education of student nurses and midwives as their clinical placements had ceased. Student nurses and midwives who took part in this initiative received payment of the first point of the Health Care Assistant salary scale, €28,493. The rate was also temporarily applied to those 4th year nurses and midwives on paid work placements.
Since then, the regular pay for 4th year student nurses on paid internship increased by 2% on 1st October this year. 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.
My Department is currently engaging with the nursing unions on matters of concern for student nurses at the present time. In that context, my Department is also currently reviewing allowances for student nurses on clinical placements and expects to conclude this review shortly.
