John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Whether it is anecdotal or otherwise, I hear that the package available to nurses in the UK, Canada and the USA is far better than is available in Ireland. Do the witnesses have a set of figures on starting salaries for Irish nurses and midwives versus those in the UK so that the committee could have a benchmark? My niece qualified recently and, thankfully, has got a job as a midwife in Galway. She is very happy with her permanent job and has no intention of going anywhere. There are examples of students and people who want to stay in Ireland and are happy to do so. I do not expect the witnesses to have the figures, but they might follow up the meeting by sending the information so that we could look at something factual rather than anecdotal.