Pay for student nurses to increase from beginning of March

Pay rates for student nurses are to be increased from the beginning of March under a new deal agreed between the Government and nursing unions.

To finalise their qualification student nurses must spent 36 weeks working in a hospital or clinical setting.

In 2013, pay for students working these 36 weeks was reduced and linked to the training rate of the national minimum wage.

This saw student nurses receive between €6.49 per hour and €7.79 per hour.

Under the new arrangement this rate will increase to €9.49 per hour.

The new arrangement will set student nurse rates at 70 per cent of the first point of the staff nurses incremental pay scale.

In future the 36 weeks which student nurses work in hospitals will also be recognised officially as they move along the incremental scale.

The issue of student nurse pay was one of a number of issues on which the Government agreed to engage with trade unions as part of side deals negotiated as part of talks which led to the overall Lansdowne Road agreement on public service pay last year.