Senator Fiona O’Loughlin has welcomed the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD’s announcement that the government has approved proposals to provide significant additional supports worth €12 million for student nurses and midwives while attending their clinical placements.
Senator O’Loughlin said “I am pleased to see the Minister extending the Pandemic Placement Grant of €100 per week to all eligible nursing and midwifery students on placement for this academic year. Importantly, it will be backdated to September 2021. This funding will support students attending their clinical placements”
“The Government are also providing additional support to students needing overnight accommodation away from home in order to attend some of their clinical placements. The doubling of the cap on the vouched accommodation allowance to €100 per week of placement is also a significant move in the right direction.”
Fiona concluded “It is important that we support our student nurses and midwives to undertake their clinical placements. Our student nurses stood up to the plate during the height of the pandemic, and are continuing to do so. It’s vital that they are respected and protected”