I join the Minister in welcoming the representatives of nursing who are in the Gallery. They are all very welcome to the House. I thank them for being here. It is important to hear the contributions being made today. I am sure they are not agreeing with everything that is being said, but they are all very welcome. I am very happy contribute to these statements as we mark International Nurses Day, and to join with colleagues across the House in paying tribute to our nurses and midwives. Every family in this country has a story about a nurse: the nurse who sat with an elderly parent through a long night; the midwife who delivered a baby and steadied a worried first-time mother; the community nurse who calls to the door each week so that a neighbour can stay longer in their own home; or the public health nurse who picked up early warning signs that a child needed additional help. These are not small things; they are moments when our health service delivers and lives up to its promises and, in certain cases,k goes way above and beyond the call of duty. In my own constituency of Dún Laoghaire, that work is carried out every day in a network of hospitals and community services that constituents rely upon. St. Vincent's Hospital at Elm Park is a major acute hospital serving a huge catchment area, with a nursing workforce of over 1,000. St. Michael's Hospital in the heart of Dún Laoghaire town runs a busy local emergency department and 130 inpatient beds, with several hundred nursing and clinical staff. I had personal experience of that over the last number of months. I want to put on the record, as it is appropriate today, that the nursing staff, Dr. JJ Barry and all the team there do immense work, not only for a relative of mine but indeed for so many constituents. St. Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown, with around 450 staff in total, provides the medical assessment unit and injury unit that so many people and families have turned to over the years. On top of that, there are the public health nurses, community nurses, school nurses, nursing home staff, hospice nurses and practice nurses working across Dún Laoghaire every single day. We owe all of them a huge debt and gratitude and simply say, "Thank you". We know what you do and we are grateful for it. Gratitude on its own is not enough, of course. Nurses themselves would be the first to say that. The recent INMO member survey is a serious document, and the levels of stress, burnout and pressure that it records cannot be brushed aside. I heard Phil Ní Sheaghdha on the radio recently talking about this document. Some of the statistics in it are quite startling. The World Health Organization recognises burnout as an occupational phenomenon. The international evidence tells us it has to be tackled on two fronts at once, that is, through individual supports and through structural change in how services are staffed and organised. That is what this Government is doing. As of the end of March, there were 10,975 more nurses and midwives working in our health service than there were at the start of 2020, bringing the total to 45,591 whole-time equivalents. Over 93,000 nurses and midwives are now on the NMBI register – the highest number ever recorded. First-year nursing places in Irish higher education institutions have grown by 23% since 2020 and an additional €28.5 million is funding more than 1,100 extra healthcare training places every year for the next three years. The framework for safe nurse staffing and skills mix is now fully implemented in emergency departments and is nearing full roll-out in wards, backed by €56.2 million since 2020 and around 2,000 additional registered nurses and healthcare assistants. The evidence is showing what nurses have long known: when staffing is right, patients do better, missed care reduces, retention improves, and reliance on agency staff comes down. We are also seeing real progress on advanced practice. Ireland is now a global leader in this area, with advanced practice accounting for 2.7% of the nursing and midwifery workforce. That has meant shorter waiting lists, faster access for patients, and clear career pathways for nurses themselves. Of the 47 recommendations in the expert review body report, 36 have been closed, with the rest on track for 2027. The goal of universal healthcare, a public service that delivers the best possible care when it is needed, will not be reached without the nurses and midwives of this country. They are not a cost to be managed; they are the reason the system works at all. On International Nurses Day, I want to acknowledge them, particularly in Dún Laoghaire and right across the country, and to give a clear commitment that this Government must continue to back the nursing workforce in the work they do.

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