Vol. 534 No. 1
110 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Health and Children the results to date of the new recruitment and retention initiative for nurses announced by him on 29 November 2000; the number of additional nurses recruited here and abroad; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9985/01]
A major advertising campaign formed part of the nurse recruitment and retention initiative announced by me on 29 November last. Some 550 calls were made to the free telephone lines in Cork and Dublin in response to the campaign. Callers interested in returning to nursing and midwifery employment were facilitated in making direct contact with relevant health service employers.
The Health Service Employers Agency is finalising a national survey of nursing vacancies existing on 31 January 2001. An encouraging finding is that there was a net increase of over 1,270 nurses in the system during the year ended 31 January 2001. The full findings of the survey will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as they are available.
The ongoing recruitment of nurses from abroad is also impacting positively on the vacancy problem. A total of 896 working visas-work authorisations were issued to nurses from non-EU countries between June 2000 and February 2001. A number of hospitals in the Dublin area are reporting dramatic improvements in their position. For example, Beaumont Hospital announced recently that it had a full complement of nurses while at one stage last year it was short 130 nurses.
