As 2024 comes to a close I would like to acknowledge the work of our nurses and midwives who have consistently acted in the best interests of those they care for while upholding the standards and integrity of the professions.

As a Board, we have continued to focus on our strategic goals in providing leadership and ensuring that our model of regulation enhances public safety, promotes high standards of education, training and practice, and attracts and retains registrants. .

In April, we were delighted to announce the appointment of Carolyn Donohoe as NMBI Interim CEO. Carolyn has been part of our senior management team since 2021 and brings a wealth of experience to the role. She replaces Sheila McClelland who served as CEO for five years. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Sheila for her enormous contribution to NMBI.

We also welcomed Dr Karn Cliffe as Director of Professional Standards – Midwifery who joined our senior management team in 2024. Since April, Karn has also taken on the role of Director of Education, Policy and Standards on an interim basis and she has worked to deliver on our progressive strategies for the professions.

This year we wanted to ensure that we continued to have open and productive conversations with our registrants and stakeholders. In July, we jointly hosted the ‘Education Excellence in Nursing and Midwifery’ conference with the Chief Nurse's Office in the Department of Health. The conference, held in Dublin Castle, allowed us to have discussions with our stakeholders on key areas of nursing and midwifery education. We would like to thank them for collaborating with us for the event.

In 2024, I was delighted to take part in the Women in Leadership podcast with Angie Mezzetti which highlights the role of women who have made it to leadership levels. In the podcast, I spoke about the importance of well-being and self-care, as well as the challenges facing nurses and midwives.

This year, we asked you, our registrants and the public for your feedback on the revised Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. We aim to ensure that this key document continues to provide the most up-to-date legislative and guidance changes. Based on your feedback we will publish the new Code in 2025.

At Board level, an election was held to appoint three new members. I would like to congratulate the successful candidates, Somy Thomas, Gráinne Gaffney and Marie Lavelle as well as my colleagues Áine Lynch and Louise Collins who were re-appointed. The new appointments will be made following confirmation by the Minister for Health.

I would like to thank the Board and committee members for their valued contribution. I would like to welcome Nadine Farah who joined the Board in March and say farewell to outgoing Board members, Thomas Glynn; Marian Vaughan; Joseph Shalbin; Richard Bruton and Don Faller and express my appreciation of their time and considerable efforts over the course of their tenure.

As we enter the final year of our Statement of Strategy, I am proud of what we achieved so far and we will remain focused on protecting, promoting and progressing the nursing and midwifery professions in 2025. Together, we would like to acknowledge and express our thanks to NMBI's executive and NMBI staff members for their hard work and commitment. Finally, on behalf of the Board, I would like to take the opportunity to express our appreciation for the important contribution you have made and continue to make. You have shown dedication and compassion throughout the year and we thank you for all that you have done.

We wish you all a very happy Christmas and we look forward to working with you in the New Year.