Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand Mr. McNulty has withdrawn from the by-election - according to Twitter - so we will see how this changes things. It is the right and honourable thing for him to do. He was put in a terrible situation by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, who owe him and his family a complete and wholehearted apology. He has been put through the mill unnecessarily by the type of stroke politics for which, unfortunately, Fine Gael and the Labour Party have become known in recent years.

An Bord Altranais - or the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland as it likes to call itself, although it is officially called An Bord Altranais agus Cnáimhseachais na hÉireann and I do not know why it insists on using the English name when we have always used the Irish one - has decided the annual retention fee should be increased by 50%. Unfortunately, the legislation allows it to do so without recourse to us. We need to make a stand on this. Nurses are among the only PAYE workers who must pay professional fees to a professional bodies. They are not solicitors or doctors who are self-employed and can put it off against tax, or employed solicitors whose employer normally pays the society fees. Nurses must pay it out of their own pockets. Nurses throughout the country are going mad over this because they have suffered pay cuts and increased hours. They are the front line of trying to provide an effective service and are under more pressure than they have ever been before. It is neither fair nor right of An Bord Altranais to seek this increase in fees. The Seanad should play a role in highlighting it, because nothing has been said in the Dáil, and tell An Bord Altranais nurses cannot pay it and its administrative costs are too high.

I pay tribute to the Clerk of the Seanad who during the Seanad by-election has always displayed her complete and utter independence.