Kathleen Funchion demands pay and respect for student nurses
Kathleen Funchion urged deputies to back a motion to pay student nurses and midwives, calling a hundred euro an insult. She said the health service has suffered long-term underinvestment, staff are exhausted, and students deserve fairness and respect.
Call for deputies to support the motion
She urged all deputies in the chamber to support the motion and "put their money where their mouth is." Funchion said student nurses and midwives do not want symbolic applause, which she called patronising and demeaning, but concrete pay and respect.
Assessment of current payments
Funchion described a hundred euro as an insult that "just won't cut it," arguing that where students are needed to work they should be paid. She said the issue is straightforward for her and her colleagues in Sinn Fein and demanded action rather than empty promises.
Concerns about underinvestment and staff welfare
She pointed to long-standing underinvestment by this and previous governments and said the situation has worsened since COVID. Funchion warned that health staff are exhausted and at or beyond breaking point as a result of staffing shortfalls and pandemic pressures.
Responsibility of government and the minister
Funchion placed responsibility on the government and on the minister who previously held the health portfolio to address the payment issue. She also said that if Deputy David Cullinan were the minister he would ensure student nurses and midwives were paid.
Pandemic service and public expectations
She praised student nurses and midwives for working "bravely and tirelessly" throughout the pandemic to protect families and communities. Funchion concluded with an appeal for action, saying people are tired of talk and promises and want to see the right thing done.
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I want to start off by saying I would urge all deputies in this chamber to support this motion and to actually for once put their money where their mouth is. Student nurses and midwives along with everybody else that works in the health service don't want us standing up here clapping. It's actually an insult to them, it's patronising and it's demeaning. What they actually want is fairness and they want respect. The situation was never good in our hospitals for the last number of years and that's due to the underinvestment. of not only this government but previous governments. It's obviously gotten an awful lot worse and all of us are aware of that since COVID. For me and for our colleagues in Sinn Fein this is a very easy and a straightforward decision. As I said it's about fairness and respect and a hundred euro is an insult and it just won't cut it. Where students are needed to work they should be paid and the decision not only lies with you but there is a responsibility on Minister Harris who ironically was the Minister for Health before you so him of all all people should know about this situation and should be well aware of it. We can't see any more empty promises or delays in relation to this or in relation to anything I would say I would take the opportunity to make the point in relation to the health service. The staff are exhausted and they are at breaking point if not gone past that. If our own colleague Deputy David Cullinan was the Minister he would ensure that student nurses and midwives were paid. and we simply could not function without the valuable work that the student nurses and midwives do. Nobody wants to put students at risk but the government has been failing to invest in health, failing to have enough staff and failing to keep this virus under control as a result. Throughout the pandemic student nurses and midwives have been working bravely and tirelessly every day to protect our families and communities from COVID-19. I will finish because we are tight on time but just to say that people are sick of talk and promises and we all have sympathy and empathy with you. They really want to see action. So for once I would appeal to you to please ensure to do the right thing. Thank you.
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