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Sin Fein leader states Irish graduate nurses should emigrate
| Published: | 25 Jan at 6 PM |
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Tagged: Jobs, Emigration
As the row over cuts to professional health care workers in Irish hospitals rumbles on, Sinn Fain deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald stated that nurses would be better off by emigrating
McDonald made her views known to the Irish parliament as a reply to a statement by Eamon Gilmore that the government’s stance on nurses’ pay would stem the rush to emigrate. The government proposition includes increasing the number of graduate nursing jobs by 1,000 to 36,000, but decreasing the starting salary to €22.000 per year.
McDonald calls the move ‘cynical engineering', saying that in London a graduate nurse would start on €38,900 and adding that in other countries the salary could be even higher. She went on to compare health professionals’ salaries unfavourably to those paid in the Civil Service and Irish politics sectors.
In his reply, Gilmore refused to comment about statements made by Irish Minister of Health James Reilly. Dr Reilly is credited with a remark that, if graduate nurses were not happy with the offer, they should emigrate or take a job in a fast-food outlet.
According to Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, Irish graduate nurses in general see the move as downgrading the profession, and are refusing to apply for the posts as a result. He added that only 30 had applied to date, with the initiative now extended to include nurses who graduated in 2010 and 2011.
McDonald made her views known to the Irish parliament as a reply to a statement by Eamon Gilmore that the government’s stance on nurses’ pay would stem the rush to emigrate. The government proposition includes increasing the number of graduate nursing jobs by 1,000 to 36,000, but decreasing the starting salary to €22.000 per year.
McDonald calls the move ‘cynical engineering', saying that in London a graduate nurse would start on €38,900 and adding that in other countries the salary could be even higher. She went on to compare health professionals’ salaries unfavourably to those paid in the Civil Service and Irish politics sectors.
In his reply, Gilmore refused to comment about statements made by Irish Minister of Health James Reilly. Dr Reilly is credited with a remark that, if graduate nurses were not happy with the offer, they should emigrate or take a job in a fast-food outlet.
According to Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin, Irish graduate nurses in general see the move as downgrading the profession, and are refusing to apply for the posts as a result. He added that only 30 had applied to date, with the initiative now extended to include nurses who graduated in 2010 and 2011.
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