Two Mayo Oireachtas members speak out on controversial decision not to pay student nurses

Two Mayo Oireachtas members - Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh and Senator Lisa Chambers - have spoken out against the government's decision to oppose in a Dáil Éireann vote the payment of student nurses and midwives.

Deputy Conway Walsh (SF) recalled a time when hundreds and thousands of Irish nurses were forced to emigrate to London - "and nothing has changed since then."

She stated: "All the camogie and football teams there were full of nurses that this country did not want.

"We are giving them the exact same message now. There is no justifiable reason anyone would oppose the payment of student nurses and midwives who are on the front line during the global pandemic.

"Because we put a label of "student" on nurses, we think that it is carte blanche to be able to exploit them in the way that we have exploited many other students around the accommodation crisis and everything else that has been done.

"We should not be here in December trying to shame the government into doing the right thing.

"Student nurses have stepped up heroically. So far, 3,179 healthcare workers have contracted Covid-19. That is more than 7% of all cases.

"They deserve to be paid for the work they are doing. They need to be paid for the work they are doing. Students on placements often worked weekends at various forms of care facilities. That is how they support themselves through college.

"Due to Covid-19 they have had to give up these part-time jobs due to the dangers of cross-contamination.

"The government comes across as completely out of touch when it does not dawn on it that many of these students need an income to live on. They are not paid.

"They are unable to learn and on top of this they are expected to pay €3,000 in fees, and often multiples more in rent.

"We are telling them to give up their job, to work for free, and they still must pay the highest fees in the EU. Yet we wonder why we have problems retaining nurses if this is how they are treated.

"Something absolutely must be done about this. They are not asking for a handout. They are asking to be paid for the very hard work they do.

"They are called nurses because of the work they do."

Senator Chambers (FF) said while she fully understood that politics were at play, there is a conversation to be had about how the government can justify student nurses not being paid.

"That applies not just during the pandemic but beyond it.

"Electricians, plumbers and apprentices are all paid something during training. They do not receive a full wage rate but their work is acknowledged and paid for. The same should apply to student nurses.

"When this pandemic is behind us we need to have a conversation about how we can do this.

"Student nurses in hospitals may not do the full complement of professional work - they do not administer drugs or perform other tasks requiring training - but they are working extremely hard. Our health service relies upon them.

"It is no coincidence that this issue remains unresolved for a predominantly female profession.

"I will work with my party colleagues to ensure this matter is resolved to the satisfaction of student nurses."