asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether there is any uniform scale of salaries for nurses in hospitals controlled by local authorities in Éire; and, if not, whether he will state the scale paid by each local authority in the country to nurses employed in hospitals under their control.
Written Answers. - Local Authorities and Nurses' Salaries.
There is no uniform scale of salary for nurses in hospitals controlled by local authorities, nor is there a uniform scale of salary in the case of each local authority. The preparation of a detailed statement of salaries would take a considerable time and the expenditure involved in its compilation would not be justified.
There is scarcely any county in which a uniform salary scale is applicable to all nurses in all the hospitals therein. The salaries generally vary as between the county hospital, district hospitals and fever hospitals in a county and in many instances there are variations between salaries paid to different nurses in the same institution where, for instance, extra rates are paid for qualifications in midwifery or where the emoluments differ or where nursing sisters are employed as well as lay nurses.
In these circumstances there is no convenient form in which the information requested by the Deputy could be presented, and even if there were the compilation of an exhaustive statement is not practicable.