 Annually, approximately 1,800 students start a nursing degree in Ireland. This month, Minister for Health Simon Harris has guaranteed permanent contracts will be available for all nursing and midwifery graduates. The move comes as part of the Health Service People Strategy, which aims to combat the issues with Ireland's revolving door health system. We spoke to student nurses in DCU where reactions to the announcement were mixed. I think it'd be brilliant if it comes true, but I believe when we see it, it's very easy to make those promises. But what's the guarantee, or how can you guarantee that? Yeah, it's really nice to know that when we qualify, we'll have something definitely there and not have to go to another country to look for a job, basically, and we have a safety net here. And was emigration something you had considered before? Yeah, you'd be kind of thinking about it if you weren't guaranteed something here, so it's nice not to have to now. Well, it's a great idea and I hope that does happen, but I know for current fourth years that they still haven't been issued with their contracts and they were told that they would do them and they're still in. A survey done by the Irish Nursing and Midwives Organisation last year showed that only 30% of nursing graduates were offered contracts by the HSE and only 16% of these were permanent. On top of this, 78% of graduates were considering emigration following their degree.