Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
1406. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health how student nurses in certain circumstances (details supplied) can qualify for travel expenses while on placement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12494/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, following approval by Government on 13 December 2022, I was pleased to announce €9 million in additional supports for student nurses and midwives. €5.4m of this funding provides for an enhanced Travel and Subsistence Scheme for eligible students in publicly funded undergraduate nursing and midwifery courses while attending their supernumerary clinical practice placements. Supernumerary students in midwifery, general, combined children's and general, intellectual disability and psychiatric nursing all have the same entitlement.
The Department of Health Circular 4/2023 issued to the HSE on 27 February 2023, set out revised arrangements to apply. This scheme provides a targeted and more equitable approach to supporting these students and one of its key features is set out hereunder: -
supernumerary students on the undergraduate nursing/midwifery programme continue to be entitled to claim for payment of travel expenses necessarily incurred while attending placements, on the basis of receipts provided by the student and certified by the Student Allocation Liaison Officer (SALO) in the clinical partner site. Public transport should be used wherever possible. Where public transport is not available and the use of private transport is necessary to attend placements, a supernumerary student is entitled to claim for payment of these necessarily incurred travel expenses. These should be paid on the same basis as that which applies generally in the public sector.
As responsibility for the specific issue raised by the Deputy rests with the HSE, I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy.
