Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The INMO ballot was not just about wage increases but was also about patient safety. The HSE has not been able to recruit and retain sufficient nurses and midwives, meaning that the health service is understaffed. Nurses are working 12 hour shifts which sometimes run into 13 or 14 hours. They rarely get out of work on time and are constantly contacted on their days off to do overtime. They work exceptionally hard and it is often forgotten that they have families of their own to look after. They care for everyone and they are not rewarded in the way they should be. In Australia, the maximum number of patients in a nurse's care is six but in Ireland it can be between 15 and 20, which speaks for itself. Morale among nurses is at an all-time low at the moment.

After year one, a staff nurse earns approximately €31,000 while a garda earns €32,000. The equivalent salary for a respiratory technician or occupational therapist is €37,000 and for a teacher is almost €38,000. These salary scales came into effect in 2011. Nursing is the lowest paid of all of these professions, despite being a degree-only profession. Nursing is an increasingly complex role, especially given an ageing population with multiple co-morbidities and complex care needs as well as new technologies that are constantly being developed to keep people living longer, healthier lives. The hourly rate for new nurses in Ireland is 29% lower than in the US, 27% lower than in Canada, 28% lower than in Australia and 19% lower than the rate in England.

A number of years ago an issue arose with garda pay.

That was resolved by recognising that gardaí work unsociable hours, days, nights, weekends, holidays, Easter and Christmas - around the clock. Nurses are in the same category, they do the same hours and they should be treated the same. The situation could be resolved by using the principle that was used in the Garda pay claims.

I have spent more than 30 years in politics, and I have never received as many emails from patients supporting nurses. People who are too sick to come out and support the nurses are asking us to support nurses. I ask the Minister to do the same.

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