Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Jan 1996

Vol. 460 No. 3

Written Answers. - Negotiations with Nurses' Unions.

Mary Harney

Question:

174 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Health if he will make a statement on the recent negotiations that have taken place with the nurses unions; and the steps, if any, he intends to take to ensure that nurses receive professional recognition and rights. [1080/96]

Minister for Health (Mr. Noonan,

Limerick East): The position in relation to claims for improvement in the pay and conditions of employment of all grades of health staff, including nurses, is that such claims must be processed through the industrial relations procedures. These procedures provide an equal opportunity for both management and staff to discuss the relevant issues in detail and to reach agreement in due course.

Under the agreedProgramme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW) Health Service management has been engaged in extensive discussions with the nursing unions (INO, SIPTU, IMPACT, PNA) in relation to the application of a special pay increase as provided for in the agreement on pay in the Public Service incorporated in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. Regrettably, the unions have currently suspended their participation in these discussions. The management side has at all times been available and willing to resume and progress discussions on the wide range of issues raised by the nursing unions with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable solution.

Nurses are a recognised professional grade with their own professional body, An Bord Altranais, established under the Nurses Act, 1985. The board registers nurses, controls nurse education and training, operates fitness to practice procedures and is charged with giving guidance to the nursing profession on matters relating to ethical conduct among other things.