Sponsorship

Sponsorship is available for a limited number of mature applicants who are support staff in the Irish public health service and who want to become nurses or midwives. To be eligible you must be directly involved in delivering care to patients or clients in a nursing or midwifery context in the Health Service Executive (HSE), for example employed as healthcare assistants or multi-task attendants. 

The scheme ensures your basic salary is paid for the duration of your nursing or midwifery degree programme. You will be expected to return to your substantive post outside of the academic semesters for the duration of the programme. 

To be considered for the sponsorship scheme, applicants must:

• meet the conditions set by the HSE
• apply as a mature student to the CAO
• be successful in the mature applicant assessment tests in the current year 
• have applied for sponsorship to the Nursing and Midwifery Planning and Development Unit (NMPDU), Kilkenny by the closing date as specified by the NMPDU
• be offered a place in nursing or midwifery as a mature applicant by the CAO (an offer of a place does not guarantee an offer of sponsorship), and
• meet the required terms and conditions as determined by an education body and healthcare agency.  

Applications are generally made to the HSE around May or June of each year.

Visit the HSE website for more information.