James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This scheme represents an opportunity for a substantial number of recently-qualified nurses to work in Ireland for a two-year period and to gain valuable experience and additional skills at a time when job opportunities in the public service are, regrettably, very limited. Graduate nurses and midwives are of course entitled to choose whether to participate in the initiative or to pursue their careers elsewhere, but I hope to see a steady increase in applicants over the coming months.

The recruitment of graduate nurses under this scheme, currently in train, will continue. The HSE will accept applications on an ongoing basis for Phase 1, covering registered general nurses for the acute hospital setting and the community, from 2012 graduates and also those who graduated in 2010 and 2011. Further recruitment will continue during 2013. Phase 2, which will cover mental health, intellectual disability, midwifery and paediatrics, will launch in the coming days. There will also be opportunities for those who graduate in 2013 to participate. The intake was always expected to be spread over a period, especially since the scheme was being introduced some months after most 2012 graduates completed their training last September.

The initiative will give nursing and midwifery graduates an employment opportunity and facilitate their professional development. They will be able to avail of a suite of educational programmes, including intravenous canulation and training in anaphylaxis treatment. It has also been agreed that participants will be facilitated in obtaining a certificate in advanced health care skills to cover areas such as health assessment and pharmacology. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform approved this employment initiative on the basis that participants would not be counted in health service staff numbers and that it would result in savings on unsustainable levels of agency and overtime expenditure. Given the requirement on the HSE to reduce numbers employed and to maximise savings, there is only limited scope to offer permanent posts at the starting point of the staff nurse scale at present.

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