Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Those crises have had a real impact on patients the length and breadth of the country. The Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, may think it is a matter for hilarity, but for the people who have had negative experiences within the health services it has not been fun. Last year the Government decided to cut nurses' and midwives' pay by a further 20%. Today, graduates who have completed a four-year degree course are working alongside other graduates for 20% less than their colleagues who took up employment in 2011 and 2012. They are expected to do exactly the same work and carry the same responsibilities. The Government sought to justify that cut by introducing a graduate nurse programme. The scheme, which might be described by some as a scam, is totally unfair to the newly qualified nurses and midwives. We find as a result that they are emigrating to the UK and other places around the world while the HSE is out there trying to recruit nurses on the international stage to take up positions in this country. The suggestion that teachers would have a similar 20% pay cut inflicted on them was removed by the Government, but that did not happen for the nursing profession.

Does the Tánaiste believe the way nurses and midwives have been treated in this country is fair? Is it acceptable that they have to work alongside their colleagues for €22,000 per year? The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, spoke about creating a situation in which we could have a living wage, but the reality is that the Government is imposing a fundamental unfairness on one section of Irish society, namely nurses and midwives. The Irish public has great respect for this profession. Will the Tánaiste reverse that Government policy and ensure that young, fully qualified graduate nurses are paid the same as their colleagues?

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