The suspension of clinical placements for over 2,000 student nurses is to be extended to at least 8 February, with a phased return depending on the healthcare setting.
As part of their degree courses, first, second and third-year nurses are obliged to do unpaid clinical placements in healthcare settings, or have clinical placements suspended - though some are entitled to a €50 per week allowance towards travel and accommodation expenses.
However, on Saturday, 16 January, as the pandemic intensified, the Department of Health announced that the clinical placements were being suspended for two weeks, to free up hundreds of staff supervising the placements for frontline duties.