Fourth year children’s nursing students have expressed anger after it was communicated that they will not receive a subsistence payment for unpaid placement this year.
The subsistence payment was introduced in 2023 to support student nurses with the increased costs associated with the mandatory placements student nurses must complete during their studies. Nursing students are given €250 per term to cover the cost of food and lunches.
However, it was announced in September that this allowance will not be available to fourth year student nurses. Speaking to Trinity News, children’s and general nursing student Naomi Butler-Ffrench said the situation was “unbelievable”.
“This is another hurdle to [overcome]. Last year, when the subsistence payment came in, it felt like we were finally getting some recognition for the work we do on placement – and now that’s been taken away from us.”
Communication from the Office of the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services in the Health Service Executive (HSE) said that the decision arose from the fact that the fourth-year student nurses are approaching their paid internship, and that the subsistence payment is specifically for students on unpaid placement.
But members of the children’s nursing class have said that their internship will not begin until May 2025, before which they have 18 weeks of unpaid placement to do.
This is the longest period of placement throughout all years of the degree; in first year, students must complete 10 weeks, while second and third year students must complete 16 weeks.
Nursing student Katie Foley summed up her classmates’ sentiments: “To be honest, I’m not surprised. They don’t care about us.”
This announcement comes after a year of questions and upset. After the subsistence allowance was launched last autumn, there was an unexplained delay of three months in the payment of the allowance to students.
Student nurses were due to be paid €750 in November, however the students did not receive this payment until March, after a battle for answers and clarity, with many questions left unresolved or acknowledged.
The Student Allocation Liaison Officer (SALO), who oversees the clinical allocations aspect of the nursing degree, praised students for their proactivity in raising the problem with the HSE, adding: “Hopefully changes can occur as soon as possible.”
Students are still waiting for communication from the HSE with an answer as to why they must complete 18 weeks of placement without the subsistence allowance prior to starting their internship next May.
