Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
608 Ms Harkin asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason public health nurses have not been awarded clinical nurse specialist status despite this having been recommended by the committee for nursing 1998; and if the Minister has plans to rectify this situation in the immediate future. [11953/04]
View answerI presume the Deputy is referring to the pay awards recommended under the public service benchmarking body, PSBB. The commission on nursing, which reported in 1998, considered that public health nurses, PHNs, operated at the level of clinical nurse specialist. In its submission to the PSBB, the Alliance of Nursing Unions, representing the Irish Nurses Organisation, the Psychiatric Nurses Association, IMPACT and SIPTU Nursing, made a claim to have the PHN grade paid a differential of 10% over the rate of pay ultimately recommended for the clinical nurse manager 2, CNM2. At that time, PHNs were paid at the same rate as CNM2 plus a qualification allowance. Clinical nurse specialists are paid at the same rate as CNM2s. On the statement contained in the report of the Commission on Nursing, the Nursing Alliance stated "Clearly, it was not considering the issue of pay rates for either grade but was merely making a statement of the unique role played by the PHN."
The PSBB, which issued its report in 2002, recommended an increase of 9.2% for the PHN grade and an increase of 12.2% for the clinical nurse manager 2-clinical nurse specialist grade. The benchmarking process established new absolute levels of pay for nursing and other public service grades and, furthermore, ensured that no benchmarked grade may receive a further increase as a consequence of the body's recommendations as they effect any other grade, whether benchmarked or not. In recognition of their qualifications, all PHNs are paid a qualification allowance of €2,422 per annum and PHNs who were in employment on 16 November 1999 are paid a further red-circled allowance of €1,390 per annum on top of basic salary.
