Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

Some 1,000 Indian nurses came to this State at the start of the year on two-year work permits to work in the health services. They work here not as nurses but as healthcare assistants in nursing homes and as home care assistants, overwhelmingly in the private sector. A real injustice is being done to these workers. The basic pay stipulated in the arrangement under which they came here is €27,000 a year. This means they are €3,000 below the threshold that would allow them the chance to bring their families here on visas. They are being asked to do stressful and mentally draining work while separated from their children and families. Moreover, these workers are being asked to do Quality and Qualifications Ireland level 5 training, and pay up to €1,500 to do so, despite the fact their nursing qualifications include not just equivalent training but much more besides.

Will the Tánaiste agree this is a labour exploitation scandal and these workers should be allowed reunite with their families? Will he further agree that the State should recognise their qualifications or, at the very least, cover the cost of the courses the State insists upon?

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