Ministers to discuss pay for student nurses

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will provide an update on a nurses pay report.

Ministers are set to discuss issues around pay for student nurses at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.

In November, a review commissioned by the Department of Health and carried out by Professor Tom Collins recommended that the pandemic placement grant, a payment of €100 per week after tax, should be paid when student nurses are on hospital placements from January 2021 until the end of the pandemic.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly will be providing colleagues with an update on the report, including his intention to publish it.

The review also recommended that the pandemic placement grant should be included in the terms of reference of any second review of supports for student nurses and midwives, and should also examine pay rates for interns on rostered duties.

Prof Collins found that to address staff shortages during the first wave of Covid-19, fourth-year interns were placed on three-month health care assistant salaries, while 1,250 of those on supernumerary placement accepted voluntary temporary contracts as health care assistants.

The report found that while the Government could do this again should a further surge occur, resulting in more staff shortages, it should seek to address the shortages through other means first.

Nursing unions have already dismissed the first pay proposals as inadequate.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), after speaking with student representatives, described the reaction as "disappointed".

"It’s time for the minister to do the right thing," said INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha at the time. "He should pay students the healthcare assistant rate of pay, something which was done earlier in the pandemic."

Government representatives came under intense scrutiny last year over the issue with a widely publicised vote on nurses pay and have spoken privately to their senior party officials about avoiding the situation in the future.

The Cabinet will also discuss ongoing concerns around the vaccine rollout and the communications around the issue.

A number of ministers are said to be concerned over reports of certain hospitals receiving either more or less vaccines than expected.

An update on the rollout will be presented by Mr Donnelly as well as discussions about early procurement and delivery dates for new vaccines arriving in Ireland.