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Student nurses should be paid higher allowances for working during Covid-19, the Minister for Higher and Further Education Simon Harris has said.<\/p>\nStudent nurses should be paid higher allowances for working during Covid-19, the Minister for Higher and Further Education Simon Harris has said.<\/p>\n
The former minister for health said it was \u201cright\u201d and \u201cappropriate\u201d that student nurses were paid for working during the pandemic and he would like to see \u201cimmediate action\u201d next month following a review.<\/p>\n
An independent review into student nurses\u2019 allowances is due to be completed by the end of the month.<\/p>\n
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly told the D\u00e1il last week that any recommended increase in allowances could be in place in January if representative organizations gave their backing.<\/p>\n
The Government has come under sustained criticism in recent weeks for not paying some student nurses, and earlier this month it voted against a motion by the Opposition to pay them.<\/p>\n
Student nurses and midwives are given allowances for working but only fourth-year students are paid a salary for their work.<\/p>\n
Mr Harris said: \u201cWe now have a situation where clinical placements are back. Student nurses are back in full-time education. But there are two very important issues that still arise.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne, how do we, as you rightly say, ensure that our nurses get fair allowances, and two, how do we ensure that if they are in clinical placements as opposed to work, that has a very clear understanding of the difference, because if somebody is rostered to work, that is work and work must pay. There\u2019s a difference between a clinical placement and work.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I know the Minister for Health has said he intends to a) investigate what I just said about the difference between work and clinical placements, and b) crucially finish a review of allowances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Taoiseach has said in the D\u00e1il last week that he expects that that review will result in higher allowances for student nurses. I think that would be right and I think that would be appropriate and I think that\u2019s what the people of this country expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he did not want to pre-empt the outcome of the review, but he \u201cexpected immediate action\u201d.<\/p>\n