It has been a difficult week, it has been a busy week and it has also been a very sad week. I don’t need to talk to you about the numbers, you know more about them than I do. You see the person, the suffering, and the pain when outcomes are not good. From the Board and the team at NMBI, thank you. Thank you to the nurses and midwives who are on our register and working in the health service now, thank you to those who have restored to the register and thank you if you have returned to Ireland from abroad to lend your support.

We launched a new COVID-19 section on the NMBI web site yesterday. It is situated beside ‘latest news.’ We also put a tab on the top blue bar of the web site to help mobile users find the information.

The Minister for Health, Simon Harris announced this week that student nurses and midwives would be paid for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

Fees normally charged to return to the Irish Register of Nurses and Midwives have been waived for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency.

The role of NMBI is to protect the public and uphold high standards of professional practice and behaviour amongst nurses and midwives.