We have 78,000 nurse and midwives and these must, by law, be listed on the register of nurses and midwives. The fee for such registration is €100. It would be good recognition of the great efforts front-line workers have made during the Covid pandemic if the State were to pay this fee for nurses and midwives this year.

Given the dedication and hard work of our nurses during the pandemic, will the Taoiseach commit to waiving the registration fee for nurses? The attitude to nurses the Government has shown of late has been less than perfect. Earlier, when the motion on pay for student nurses and midwives was being debated, we heard how our student nurses were being undervalued, taken for granted and expected to work hard for little financial recompense. Our nurses deserve more than applause from Government. Their immense contribution to fighting Covid-19 at risk to their own health and to the detriment of their home lives must be recognised properly.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland administers this retention fee on an ongoing basis. This issue has not been brought before Government.

What will-----

Government has provided unprecedented resources targeted at improving services across the health sector and at improving the working environment and working conditions of nurses.

The impact of the winter initiative can be seen so far in terms of the better flow through hospitals in emergency departments and so on.

That said, I will talk to the Minister for Health on this but there is a range of registration bodies in health which register a range of professionals across the health area. The Government focus today has been on more the general allocation of money to try to improve and expand services.