Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On 17 September 2014, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, voted to increase the annual registration fee for nurses and midwives, from €100 to €150 for 2015. I agree this is a large increase, particularly at a time when the danger to the eurozone is not inflation but the risk of deflation.

The staff associations have undertaken a campaign against paying the new fee and have advised members to pay the old fee of €100. Potentially, nurses who do not pay the appropriate fee will be removed from the register. As the Deputy said, in order to resolve this issue we need negotiation, discussion and consultation so as to reach an agreement. I know and have spoken with nurses who have found this a significant increase, in particular in a situation where their budgets are stretched.

Officials from the Department of Health have written to and met the president of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland on a number of occasions - two meetings took place in December 2014 - and they expressed concern about the possible implications for the health services and patient safety if this situation should lead to some form of industrial dispute which would have an impact on patients. The board met the staff associations and the matter was discussed at board meetings. However, I am conscious the issue has not yet been satisfactorily resolved. The Minister for Health continues to monitor the situation closely and has asked the board and staff associations to continue discussion. I cannot report a satisfactory outcome to the Deputy as yet.

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