As the only nurse in the Dáil, I stand here very proud. I am fortunate enough to have served on the board of St. James's Hospital, the largest hospital in the country. I am delighted that the Government agreed to have these statements on International Nurses Day and I thank the Minister and the Ministers of State. It is a first for the 100,000 plus nurses across this island, North and South. We hardly ever agree to things and this might be a rare occasion. I concur with most of what the Minister said. There are details in other areas I would disagree with but today is a day of celebration and we will not get too snarly with each other. It is about, I suppose, recognising the hard work of nurses, globally and nationally. We are the backbone of the healthcare service - the glue that holds it together - and keep it going, albeit in unsafe conditions. I recognise my colleagues from the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland, the INMO and Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, formerly Bord Altranais, in the Public Gallery. Tá céad míle fáilte romhaibh, a cháirde. International Nurses Day was first celebrated 65 years ago on the anniversary of the birth of Flo, Florence Nightingale, also known as the Lady with the Lamp. I also honour our own Irish nursing heroes - Cumann na mBan's Elizabeth O'Farrell and the very matronly Margaret Huxley, in whose name they still have yearly awards in hospitals for the most high-achieving nursing student. This year's theme, as the Minister said, is "Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives." This means ensuring the nursing workforce has the resources, the authority and the safety necessary to improve healthcare outcomes. Nurses are carers but they also need to be cared for. The insecurity of poor working environments with so many vacancies compromises patient care. That is just the way it is. Our healthcare system is in trouble. It is shaken to the core by the rapid and steady exit of medical professions to perceived greener pastures. An estimated 25,000 Irish qualified nurses and midwives left the healthcare system in the past two decades. The significant long-term trend of emigration deepens the nursing crisis in Ireland with three quarters of new graduates considering emigrating due to burnout, poor working conditions and, of course, the housing crisis. Some 6,000 funded posts remain vacant, meaning that recently announced HSE staffing controls are extremely worrying to all nurses. As the INMO warned, nurses cannot provide safe care and are scraping by with unsafe staffing levels. Essential worker recruitment is the first cut in every healthcare budget overrun. Likewise, the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland has flagged the HSE's shocking proposals to close ten CAMHS beds in St. Vincent's in Fairview. Serious difficulties in recruitment and retention of psychiatric nurses give rise to grave concerns of the feasibility of opening the 11 beds in Linn Dara, as the Minister of State will be aware, and the 20 new CAMHS beds at the national children's hospital, whenever that opens. I am grateful to the registered nurses from outside Ireland who have arrived to help. A large proportion of our nursing force is now from other lands. It is a global phenomenon, as the Minister rightly said, and we are now heavily reliant on international staff to help steady our wobbly ship. While on the one hand we have a brain drain of trained nurses, we are also posing a drain on nurses from the less-advantaged countries of the world, negatively impacting their own quality of healthcare. The WHO has identified more than 50 countries that are exporting nurses, putting their own healthcare systems at risk. Everyone is entitled to look for a better life as our nurses have done abroad. However, the solution is not just in recruitment, but in retention and increased capacity for those wishing to train as nurses. That means a strong commitment to the existing workforce in terms of pay and conditions, safety, respect, support and professional development. We must invest in affordable housing for nurses, midwives and their families near their workplaces. Locally, I am talking to the approved housing bodies and requesting of them in the Dublin 8 area, which is the health hub of our country, to retain some of the new housing builds for accommodation for local nurses through their four years of training. I cannot help reflecting on the HSE's appeal at the beginning of the Covid pandemic. The Be on Call for Ireland campaign was heard loud and clear around the world. Tens of thousands gave up jobs and homes and returned to Ireland to assist. Many were nurses and were given a mere three-month contact, as I was. The HSE squandered the opportunity to decrease the billions of euro spent on agency workers and overtime over the last number years and instead provide skilled, knowledgeable and experienced nurses. It was a crucial missed opportunity to end long hours and burnout, provide safety and allow us to carry out our duty of care. I conclude by acknowledging all of the healthcare professionals who have been abducted, injured and killed in Palestine due to Israel's horrific and violent attacks on the health infrastructure there. What they have endured is truly abominable. We are witnessing the loss of humanity. Humanity is a core component of what it takes to be a nurse.

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Thanks, Deputy.

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