Nurses’ representatives have welcomed the package of supports for student nurses and midwives worth €9 million that was approved by Cabinet on Tuesday and say they will seek an early meeting with officials at the Department of Health to discuss implementation of the measures.
Among the supports, which had been recommended in the last year’s McHugh Report, are a €500 allowance for first to third year students to help cover meals and other costs associated with practice placements outside students’ core placement sites. There is also an accommodation allowance of €80 per night capped at €300 per week, the provision of additional uniforms and help with laundry costs.
For those undertaking their 36-week final year of internships, wages are to be set at 80 per cent of the rate of newly qualified nurses and midwives. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the move “demonstrates further our commitment to retaining talent throughout our nursing and midwifery degree programmes, and our appreciation for the effort and dedication shown by students during their crucial final-year internships”.
The move on pay will cost €3.6 million.
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Mr Donnelly said the travel and subsistence funding would “provide a targeted and more equitable approach” to helping the students. The supports are to be backdated to the start of September.
Welcoming the news that the recommendations are to be implemented, INMO Student and New Graduate Officer Roisin O’Connell said “the McHugh report was aimed at bringing allowances for student nurses and midwives in line with the expenses they always incur as part of their training. But it was also important to recognise the additional challenges placed on students during the pandemic and the huge contribution they made to the frontline workforce.
“Students are affected by the same cost-of-living challenges as their qualified colleagues, with many of them struggling to meet the costs of transportation, fuel, heating, accommodation, and other necessities for completing their training. This includes the cost of accommodation away from home during placements, which is simply unaffordable for students.
“Travel is a big part of student placements, but some students will have to pay for accommodation in two places. Supports for these really significant expenses and for uniforms will mean a lot to our student members.
“The INMO has lobbied and pursued these claims for student nurses since 2010 so it is very welcome that as the fourth years commence their internship this is one less issue for them to deal with.”
