Nurses play a vital role in caring for patients in hospital and healthcare centres. Their work and their impact extend far beyond medical treatment. They are often the first people patients see. They are the ones who spend the most time providing care and comfort for the sick and injured. They are often the ones who provide emotional support to families during extremely difficult times. They do all of this while juggling immense workloads and dealing with overcrowded hospitals, staff shortages and long working hours. The physical and emotional pressures they come under caring for patients every day cannot be underestimated. This is reflected most in the HIQA report on Letterkenny University Hospital where risks were identified in the emergency department, particularly with regard to overcrowding. Despite this the nurses were observed being courteous, attentive and respectful in their interactions with patients. The report said they were aware of this and demonstrated commitment to providing care and dignity and autonomy in delivery of care, and they retained a calm reassuring presence despite the pressures of a busy department with long waiting times. This is consistent with many reports you hear about Letterkenny hospital. Despite this and the many challenges they face, the nurses are exceptional in their work and the care they provide. I do not think they get the recognition they truly deserve, and I am glad we are taking time to recognise them today. They deserve far more recognition, and the Minister of State knows this. At last week's INMO conference, an emergency medical nurse who worked in Letterkenny hospital for 22 years described how she left due to stress, anxiety and the physical demands of the job. She said she would go back in a heartbeat except her health was so damaged. She was one nurse potentially looking after between 30 and 40 patients in a busy emergency department. The shifts are physically hard and demanding. These are 13-hour shifts where you are on your feet and it is constantly go, go, go. It also takes a significant mental toll on their health, and they suffer from burnout. This is pushing them to the brink until they can physically and mentally do no more. We must support them and support their jobs. We must also support our National Ambulance Service. The HSE's failure to update the ambulance workers' pay scales to reflect changes in their responsibility and workloads over the past 20 years is shocking. We must do all we can to support them. Two weeks ago, I was in the accident and emergency department in the middle of the night with my youngest child who had a high temperature. I received fantastic treatment there. One of the Indian nurses came in and she was magnificent. She cared for my child like it was her own. We need to recognise this but we also need to recognise that we have to look after our nurses.

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