All nurses and midwives who practise in Ireland must, by law, be listed on the Register of Nurses and Midwives. 

At its meeting on Wednesday, 12 February, the Board of NMBI confirmed the names of those who are removed from the Register of Nurses and Midwives as they have not renewed their annual licence to practice.

The Board considers removals under Section Section77(1) of the Nurses and Midwives Act 2011, as amended. Removal notices are being issued to those who did not renew their registration for 2025. Please note that notifications of removals are sent to the Health Service Executive (under Section 82 of the Act).

It is an offence to practise nursing or midwifery if your name is not on the Register. Practice includes clinical practice, nursing or midwifery management, education and research.

It is the registrants’ responsibility to ensure that their name is on the Register if they practise nursing or midwifery in Ireland. 

Registrants wishing to restore their name to the Register for 2025 are required to pay a restoration fee in addition to the annual renewal fee of €100. They must also comply with the restoration requirements at the time of application.

Further information is available on our website.

I attended secondary school at Piper’s Hill College in Naas Co Kildare and it was here that I discovered I had an interest in nursing. During Transition Year, I completed a career aptitude test and the results showed that my personality was best suited to working in a caring profession.

Caring for people came very naturally to me, and the human body and physiology fascinated me. After careful consideration and research into the profession and what it entailed, I decided to focus on nursing as my main career option.

I applied to Trinity College Dublin for their Adelaide and Meath general nursing course through the CAO and in September 2021 I was offered the place. 

The Covid-19 pandemic was ongoing at that time which meant my first clinical placement in Tallaght University Hospital was delayed until March 2022. In the lead up to the first clinical placement I continued to advance my theoretical knowledge of nursing. I developed my practical skills in the St James Hospital Centre for Learning and Development. The staff there taught me the very basics of nursing which helped me to develop the foundation of my nursing career.

It was during my first block of clinical placement that I realised that this was the career for me. I developed a deeper appreciation for the role and I felt very grateful that I had the opportunity to help people, some of whom are going through their worst times.

Fast forward to today and I am now a general nursing intern. I began my internship in Tallaght University Hospital in January of this year, supported by my clinical placement coordinators, staff nurses and other healthcare professionals. I continue to enjoy every day and progress my learning in an environment which hugely encourages student learning.

Pictured (L to R): NMBI President, Dr Louise Kavanagh McBride; Elena Prendergast and NMBI Vice-President, Áine Lynch at the Student Nurse Ambassador Forum

Last year, I was chosen as an NMBI Student Nurse Ambassador, a role I am very honoured to pursue. NMBI has recognised the significant contributions of student nurses and is actively listening to their perspectives through their annual student nurse forum. This was a huge success for nursing students from many disciplines from around the country who gathered last November to discuss pressing matters emerging from their courses. 

A piece of advice I was given prior to beginning my internship was to enjoy the process of becoming a nurse. Try not to get to caught up in what is ahead of you and to enjoy achieving each milestone of becoming a nurse. 

In closing, I would like to thank the clinical facilitators at St James Hospital Centre for Learning Development, my nursing and midwifery lecturers at Trinity college Dublin, the clinical placement coordinators at Tallaght University Hospital and all staff that I have had encountered during the last four years. All of my colleagues have contributed in some way to my learning and development and for that I am very grateful.

We are asking you to engage with the World Health Organization (WHO) - Europe, as part of a project funded by the European Commission, are asking nurses, midwives and doctors to complete this first-of-its-kind survey on mental health and well-being, to understand the challenges the professions face in their work environments. 

The survey takes an average of 10 minutes to complete and can be found here.

The responses gathered will be used to gain greater understanding of the key factors affecting the mental health and well-being of healthcare professionals and provide a strong evidence base to guide effective strategies for improving working conditions.

By participating in this survey, you will have the opportunity to share your personal reflections and aspirations to shape future policies designed to improve their working conditions and ensure long-term well-being on a global level.

Pictured above (L to R): Carolyn Donohoe, NMBI Interim Chief Executive; Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill; Lorraine Clarke Bishop, NMBI Interim Director of Education, Policy and Standards and Áine Lynch, NMBI Vice-President

On 14 February, we launched the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Nurses and Registered Midwives (the Code) at the NMBI office.

Attendees at the launch heard from our Vice-President, Áine Lynch, our Interim Chief Executive, Carolyn Donohoe and our Interim Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Lorraine Clarke Bishop.

We were delighted to also welcome Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill who commended NMBI for our work. 

At the event, Áine spoke about how the Code “is designed to protect nurses and midwives whose profession it is to care for others and who make a positive and beneficial impact on the Irish healthcare system and in particular on the delivery of patient care.” 

Describing the Code, Carolyn said it was "our roadmap for safety and this new modern Code will become the bedrock for compassionate practice across the country”.

The review of the Code was led by NMBI Interim Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Lorraine Clarke Bishop. 

“By integrating the Scope and other the key guidance documents into the Code, we believe we have developed a more concise and user-friendly resource for our registrants,” said Lorraine Clarke Bishop. 

Pictured above (L to R): Dr Geraldine Shaw, ONMSD; Carolyn Donohoe, NMBI Interim Chief Executive; Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill; Lorraine Clarke Bishop, NMBI Interim Director of Education, Policy and Standards; Karen Greene, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Department of Health and Áine Lynch, NMBI Vice-President

The Code is available on our website along with useful resources which can be downloaded.

Earlier this month, we held an all-Island leadership event for senior nurses and midwives.

The aim of the event was to enhance their knowledge and understanding of NMBI's fitness to practise process and their responsibilities in relation to concerns.

Attendees heard from our Director of Fitness to Practise, Orla Crowe, Director of Registration, Dr Ray Healy as well as Jeanne Tarrant, Fitness to Practise Officer, Christine Hughes, Professional Advisor and Niamh McDonald, Liaison Officer from the Fitness to Practise Department.

The event provided attendees with an overview of the fitness to practise complaints process. The presenters drew upon real life cases to illustrate the process and the possible outcomes.

Discussions also took place about the factors that should be considered when deciding to escalate a concern and make a complaint.

We would like to thank everyone who attended and our speakers who shared their valuable insights.

On 24 and 27 February, our Education, Policy and Standards Department held focused consultation workshops on the Draft Nurse Registration Programme Standards and Requirements for undergraduate students. The workshops where co-facilitated by our Interim Director of Education, Policy and Standards, Lorraine Clarke Bishop and Dr Mary Ryder.

The first workshop was attended by representatives from all 15 education bodies that provide undergraduate general nurse education while the second focused on undergraduate mental health nurse education. Programme leads and practice development coordinators engaged in lively discussions with four breakout tables assigned different topics for discussion regarding the four-year curriculum.

Lorraine was keen to highlight the importance of embedding the Code into the curriculum and ensuring that a student focused approach is taken that keeps patient safety at its core.

Further workshops are planned and will focus on children’s and intellectual disability nursing undergraduate disciplines. 

We would like to thank those who took part and we look forward to continued engagement.

We would like to advise all mature applicants applying for undergraduate nursing and midwifery programmes of the key dates for assessment testing.

Registration

Applicants are required to complete the registration form to sit the tests between 1pm on Monday, 10 March and 1pm on Wednesday, 2 April 2025. 

Those who have not registered will not be eligible to sit the tests and we strongly recommend that applicants register as soon as possible.

Testing window

The assessment tests can be completed online between Wednesday, 23 and Wednesday, 30 April 2025.

To be considered for nursing and midwifery programmes, mature applicants must be 23 years of age or over by 1 January 2025, have a valid Central Applications Office (CAO) application number and successfully complete three assessment tests.

Further updates will be made available on the Mature Applicants page of our website.

We have published the site inspection monitoring update report for South East Technological University (SETU), Waterford.

The report provides an ongoing monitoring update of the site inspection conducted by NMBI in February 2024. The report is collated six months after the Board approve the site inspection and is based on information provided by SETU in collaboration with their practice partners.

As part of our role as a regulator, we assess and approve all undergraduate programmes leading to registration in nursing and midwifery. To ensure these education programmes are of a high standard, we conduct site inspections of university and college departments as well as their partner placement sites. These reports provide an in-depth look at each education programme and include a summary of the commendations, conditions and recommendations for best practice in professional education.

We would like to thank SETU and their practice partners for their collaboration with the process.

The report is now available to read on our website.