asked the Minister for Health if he will consider allowing married nurses to be appointed to permanent posts if they are otherwise qualified.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Married Nurses.
10.
As I stated recently in reply to similar questions in regard to married women, a change in the practice of excluding married women from permanent appointments in nursing and other posts under local health authorities could involve a major policy decision, since the same practice in regard to the employment of married women is followed in appointments to every class of office throughout the local authority service. This practice will no doubt come under the scrutiny of the Commission on the Status of Women that the Government have just established.
Married nurses who take these temporary appointments in local authority hospitals are performing a useful public service. Local authorities have been authorised to grant them increments on the salary scale for their previous nursing experience.
Is the Minister aware that there is a grave shortage of candidates for permanent nursing posts and local authorities find that a number of unmarried nurses are not apparently anxious to take up permanent posts in one particular hospital? Since there appears to be a considerable number of married nurses who would qualify for those posts, would the Minister not agree that he could relieve the situation by allowing married nurses to be appointed if they are qualified? would he not agree also that there is a big difference between nurses who are in short supply and other local authority employees who appear to be in fairly plentiful supply?
We have already granted increments on salary scales for previous nursing experience of married temporary nurses. This is a reasonable contribution towards a problem which I dealt with at great length in this House. A general survey is being made by An Bord Altranais in connection with the whole nursing service of the county. We must wait until after we have examined the result of the survey to see what the position is.
Would the Minister not agree that a more valid comparison to draw would be with married teachers because when a shortage of teachers arose, it was found necessary to breach the long-standing tradition and to admit married women to teaching posts? Having regard to the real danger of a breakdown in the whole nursing service pending the report of the commission to which the Minister has referred, will be not now accede to the demand from local authorities all over the country for the admission, without discrimination as to marital status, of married nurses?
In reply to the Deputy the shortage of nurses is in certain areas and not all over the country. Deputies who live in the Dublin area are aware of the shortage of nurses in relation to geriatric cases. We will be dealing with that in the next question.
Surely the Minister must be aware——
I cannot allow any more supplementaries.
I have asked one supplementary question and I should like to ask another.
The Deputy asked a very long supplementary question.
You have to be good to do that; it was one supplementary question. Would the Minister not be aware that I county districts a substantial number of vacancies exist which can only be filled by married nurses since unmarried nurses are not available? Surely he is not telling the House that it is only in Dublin a shortage occurs and will he check with the health authorities and find out for himself? If married nurses, for any reason, decide not to serve it means, as Deputy Ryan said, a complete breakdown of the hospital service. It is ridiculous for the Minister to make the statement he has made.
I have examined the situation and, as I said, I would have to take the unusual step of asking for a change in the status of married nurses as compared with female employment in other branches of the public service. I am aware married teachers are employed. If occasion should arise on which I would have to go to the Government in advance of the findings of the Commission on the Status of Women and tell the Government the position was really serious——
It is.
——and that I thought of offering permanent positions to married nurses to alleviate the situation then I should not hesitate to go to the Government, as the Minister for Education did when married women teachers were employed. The Deputy will have to trust me to look after the situation.
In his original reply the Minister talked about a major policy decision. What did the Minister means by a major policy decision governing the employment of married nurses?
I have already indicated that in previous replies.