The Government's gratitude for the heroic work our healthcare workers have done to protect us all during Covid was revealed as thoroughly hollow when it voted down the People Before Profit motion in October to pay student nurses and midwives for their work on placements. What the Government did promise was a review of their allowances. The review offered them an absolutely pathetic €100 a week, but even that has not been paid. It was supposed to be backdated, but student nurses and midwives have not got a cent. Now they are concerned that they may be punished because the cancellation of placements in January may have to be fitted in outside the college term at another point in the year. That is an absolute disgrace.

I will check and revert to the Deputy on when that payment was due, why it has not proceeded and if payment was due, why it has not come through. The Government's approach is to make sure that we retain a good nurse education training system. I believe we made the correct decision strategically as a country some years ago to introduce a degree course for nurses. As I understand, the international assessment of nursing training, education and skills development shows us to be very high quality. It is a system that works.

Student nurses are living in poverty.

No one should accept that, but in addressing it we do not want to dismantle a system that is a good one by international standards. I am open to correction on that.