"We'll give them a round of applause rather than paying the retention fee."

Former Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh has criticised the Irish government's decision not to pay student nurses. Donegal based Grainne, who trained as a nurse in the UK, called the move a "kick in the teeth" and added that the expectation for nurses to pay this year's retention fee is "beyond belief." This comes after a motion to reinstate the wages of nurses and midwives on placement during the pandemic was voted against by the government this week. "They said there's not enough money to do that, even though they've accepted multiple pay rises for themselves," Grainne said on Instagram Stories. https://www.instagram.com/p/CH3W61FBgMG/ "Every year nurses have to pay a €100 retention fee and if you don't pay that you can get kicked off the register. And they've sent the bill this year. I'm trying to keep my composure but it's beyond belief, after everything the nurses have done this year, putting themselves on the front line during Covid, it's a kick in the teeth. "Remember when we all got a round of applause for working through coronavirus rather than getting a pay rise? Well that's what we'll do now, we'll give them a round of applause rather than paying the retention fee." Grainne then shared a video of herself clapping outside her house with the caption: "If a round of applause was good enough for the nurses of this country then it’s good enough for the gov now." https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWAWTcB2Rp/ Grainne's posts comes after much disappointment concerning the government's recent decision to not pay student nurses and midwives. Among those speaking out against the rejected motion was UCDSU, who called on the government to act urgently and pay all final-year interns the same rate as healthcare assistants. They also asked to increase and expand the clinical placement allowance for all other students and to provide full health and safety protection to all students, including payment if they have to go on Covid-related leave.