asked the Minister for Health what variations exist between the giving of credit for nursing service in the same grade in Ireland and abroad; if he is aware that much discontent is caused by the unequal application of scales; and if he will ensure that full incremental credit is granted in future for all service.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Nursing Service Credit.
17.
Standard practice in the local authority service is that an officer taking up duty for the first time enters the appropriate salary scale at the minimum. In response to recruitment difficulties, departures from the standard practice have been authorised for certain grades, including nurses.
A general-trained nurse who accepts a permanent appointment is granted incremental credit, up to a maximum of five increments, for previous postgraduate experience in a recognised hospital. This concession applies also to permanent serving nurses. Incremental concessions to married nurses in the service of local health authorities have been detailed in reply to an earlier question. I have no information about the position obtaining abroad. Present indications are that extension of these concessions is not warranted, but I will keep the matter under review.
Would the Minister not agree that experience in nursing is invaluable no matter where it is used and that it is doing a serious disservice to Irish nurses who want to return from abroad to state that they will not receive credit for the experience they have gained abroad? Would the Minister not end, once and for all, the ridiculous position of depriving nurses in the public service of fair conditions of service by relating their conditions entirely to the rules which apply to other local government officials who quite clearly could not get experience in foreign countries equivalent to the experience which nurses have? Would he not also have regard to the fact that it is a great advantage to our hospitals to be able to avail of the experience which nurses can get abroad and who should be encouraged to return by removing all the inhibitions and disadvantages which now apply?
This matter would have to be considered along with all the other changes which have been made in the past and which are being made currently. There is a considerable claim for increased remuneration for nurses and that would have to be taken into consideration in relation to any increments which are granted. It would be most inadvisable for me to commit myself on any matter when there are a number of claims with the County and City Managers Association at present. It would be inadvisable for me to commit myself on any particular matter when various claims are coming forward. I am sure they will all be considered sympathetically by the authorities. There are some 290 general trained nurses, employed in a temporary capacity at the moment by the Dublin Health Authority, who have refused permanent employment although they were offered five increments. That is another problem. Not all nurses want to be employed permanently for various personal reasons.
Would the Minister consider that recently in Dublin there has been a drop of about 100 in the number of nurses employed in hospitals? Perhaps, the urgency of that serious development will prompt him to expedite consideration of the question of nurses generally.
We always have that matter under review. I should be very glad if some Deputy would ask a question about the total shortage of nurses all over the country. The answer would be that while there is the problem to which we have to have regard the total shortage throughout the country is not considerable at all.
The trouble is that it is growing.