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

The Minister of State with responsibility for mental health is here and the Government’s policy is putting these Indian nurses through a mental health ringer. Deputy Joan Collins mentioned that there were 3,000, mainly Indian, nurses working here as healthcare assistants. Some 1,000 came over at the start of the year on two-year work permits. They are working in private nursing homes as healthcare assistants doing vital work for our health service. This is difficult and mentally draining work. The policy of the Government means they are forced to do this work while being separated from their partners and children. It is a forceful separation because the arrangement stipulates that their pay has to be €27,000. The Minister of State may say the private nursing homes can top up the money but he knows that will not happen. They are getting €27,000 per year, yet for a family reunification visa, the minimum that will even be considered is a salary of €30,000 per year. The Government is forcing these workers to do this extremely difficult work while being separated from their partners and children. It is difficult to even make a phone call and reconnect when India is four and a half hours ahead of Ireland. If someone finishes work at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m., how will they make a phone call home to the kids?

There are two ways in which the Government can deal with this issue. There should not be a threshold but the threshold could also be reduced to €27,000 to allow for family reunification or the pay could be increased to over €30,000. In the public sector and the HSE the pay is nearly €32,000. That is the road that should be taken. What say the Minister of State on that?

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