The unprecedented intervention by the Department of Health in funding 250 student nursing and midwifery places in the North should “embarrass” Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, according to the DUP.
Reacting to the €10 million investment signed off by Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly in response to Stormont budget cuts, the DUP’s Paul Givan said the move is a “wake-up call to the UK government” in relation to the North’s funding “deficit” for public services.
Under the cross-Border deal, which was first reported in The Irish Times on Saturday, there will be 200 undergraduate nursing places for students from the Republic and 50 for students from the North. All will study at northern universities from this coming September.
The three-year degree courses are currently split across Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University. Students from the Republic will be free to work in the Northern Ireland healthcare system post-graduation.
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[ Republic to fund 250 nursing places in North in unprecedented cross-Border moveOpens in new window ]
Sources say the Department of Health initiated contact with their northern counterparts at Mr Donnelly’s request after it emerged that 300 student nursing places were being cut for the 2023/24 academic year in Northern Ireland due to budget constraints amid Stormont’s collapse.
There has been no functioning government in the North for over a year due to the DUP’s boycott of the powersharing institutions as part of its protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Mr Givan, who is the party’s health spokesman in the Assembly, said: “Supporting the number of student places across a range of medical disciplines is vital to increasing the capacity within our health service to meet the growing needs of our population.
“This announcement from the Republic of Ireland Health Minister should embarrass the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and act as a wake-up call to the UK Government that they need to address the structural deficit in funding our public services from within the United Kingdom.”
There are almost 3,000 empty nursing jobs in the North.
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Mr Givan added: “The DUP want to see more students from Northern Ireland being trained in Northern Ireland and staying in Northern Ireland to work in our health service.”
The Irish Times asked the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) to respond to the DUP’s criticism of Mr Heaton-Harris and the UK government’s funding arrangements.
A NIO spokesman noted that this year’s budget allocation gave the NI Department of Health a total of £7.3 billion, which he said was “an increase of £20 million above 2022/23″.
“A locally elected, accountable and effective devolved government is the right way to govern Northern Ireland and to address the challenges its public services face,” he added.
“The decisions required to live within this budget will continue to rest with the Northern Ireland departments.”
Stormont First Minister designate Michelle O’Neill welcomed the Irish government investment, describing it as “fantastic news” that will help offset “cruel” cuts to student nursing places.
“This is a significant investment which will ensure more nurses will be trained to work in our hospitals and help tackle the pressures facing our health service,” the deputy Sinn Féin leader said.
The Alliance Party said it is the DUP who should be “embarrassed” for “its refusal to take responsibility for governing”.
“This means decisions affecting Northern Ireland and public policy priorities for Northern Ireland are being taken away from Northern Ireland,” Paula Bradshaw, Alliance health spokesperson said.
Ms Bradshaw welcomed the Republic’s investment, saying it was important to secure the nursing undergraduate places.
The SDLP described the intervention as “significant”.
“This is a clear example of how sharing resource and services across our island can deliver better results for people north and south. This is the kind of investment, with real impact for people’s lives, that will demonstrate the clear benefits of working to build a new Ireland,” Colin McGrath, SDLP health spokesman, said.
But the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) said the development raises “more questions than answers” and expressed concerns about how the cross-Border agreement was reached and communicated.
The party said it will be raising the matter with the head of the Northern Ireland civil service and the permanent secretary at the NI Department of Health.
“Whilst I welcome any increase in local training places, both the nature and the detail – or lack thereof – of the issue has left the Ulster Unionist Party with significant concerns,” the UUP’s Alan Chambers said.
“The manner in which the decision was even communicated has greatly undermined and knocked the credibility of the ongoing discussions with the local parties. There have been multiple opportunities for the political parties and MLAs to have been consulted with, even if were on a strictly confidential basis.
“Fundamentally at the core lies the wrong decision by the Northern Ireland Civil Service to cut 300 training positions for the upcoming year. Whilst public finances are in a state of turmoil thanks to the damaging absence of an Executive and local Ministers, by taking short-sighted decisions civil servants will be in no doubt that it’ll end up costing many times more in the longer-term.”
