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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 9 Oct 2003

Vol. 572 No. 2

Written Answers. - Nursing Staff.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

32 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Health and Children the total number of nursing posts vacant at the latest date for which figures are available; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties being created by the reported departure of Filipino nurses due to superior working conditions available elsewhere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22530/03]

The Health Service Employers Agency undertakes quarterly surveys of nursing vacancies, the latest of which is for the year ending 30 June 2003. A copy of this survey will be forwarded directly to the Deputy.

The main points of the survey are: there were 1,224 extra nurses employed in the health service in the year ending 30 June 2003; 931 nurses were recruited from abroad in the year ending 30 June 2003 by the employers surveyed; 294 nurses work every day in the hospitals as agency nurses; and the vacancy rate now stands at 2.75% nationally.

While all sectors reported that recruitment was well ahead of resignations/retirements, employers reported that 1,007 vacancies existed at 30 June 2003. However, the combination of utilising agency nurses and overtime adequately compensates for this shortfall.

The current vacancy rate of 2.75% could be considered to be a normal frictional rate, given that there will always be some level of movement due to resignations, retirements and nurses availing of opportunities to change employments and locations.

The recruitment and retention of adequate numbers of nursing staff has been a concern of this Government for some time, and a number of substantial measures have been introduced in recent years. These include: an increase of 70% in the number of nursing training places from 968 in 1998 to 1,640 in 2002; payment of fees to nurses/midwives undertaking part-time nursing and certain other undergraduate degree courses; improved scheme of financial support for student paediatric nurses; payment of fees and enhanced salary to nurses/midwives undertaking courses in specialised areas of clinical practice; abolition of fees for back-to-practice courses and payment of salary to nurses/midwives undertaking such courses; financial support to State enrolled nurses, SENs, working in the Irish health service wishing to undertake nursing conversion programmes in the United Kingdom; and 40 sponsorships are made available each year for certain categories of health service employees wishing to train as nurses.
I would like to illustrate the improvements that have taken place in nursing numbers generally over the past few years. In 1998, there were 26,611 whole-time equivalent nurses employed in the public health system. By the end of 2002 this figure had reached 33,395. This is an increase of almost 6,800 during the period or over 25%.
It is clear from these figures that the recruitment and retention measures I introduced are proving to be very effective. In addition, An Bord Altranais continues to receive applications for registration from overseas nurses, including from the Philippines.
The position in relation to Filipino nurses is that they have the same working conditions and rates of pay as all other nurses working in the health services. In addition, all genuine nursing experience is taken into account for incremental purposes.
A recent survey of EU nursing pay rates by my Department indicates that the average annual salary for a nurse with ten years experience is €30,247. In Ireland, the same nurse would be paid €34,103 per annum which represents a premium of almost 13%. In the United Kingdom, a nurse with ten years experience earns €25,940 per annum. In Ireland, premium pay, which includes overtime, unsocial hours and night duty rates, typically adds a further 23% to basic earnings.
Regular contacts are maintained between the Philippines Embassy in London, the honorary consul in Dublin and my Department. At a recent meeting, the deputy head of mission at the Philippines Embassy in London stated that Filipino nurses have been treated well in Ireland, that Irish employment laws are worker-friendly and adequately protect the rights of Filipino workers, and that Irish people are friendly and receptive to immigrant workers. The deputy head of mission also stated that Ireland remains competitive for foreign skilled workers, particularly Filipinos.
Excellent relations and levels of co-operation have been established between the Irish and Filipino authorities, and I would like to place on record my appreciation of the contribution Filipino nurses have made to our health service.
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