Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To follow on from what Senator Horkan said, it is important that every effort is made to resolve the nurses' dispute. I think everyone here acknowledges the dedication and commitment of nurses in the Irish health system. When one thinks of the volume of people who go through our health service, we can see that 63,000 people go through outpatients per week while another 23,000 go through accident and emergency departments per week. In addition, the system deals with a large number of inpatients every day.

It is important that we find a solution at an early date but we must be mindful of the fact that between 2000 and 2008, the cost of public pay increased from €8.2 billion per annum to €16.2 billion per annum. We must also recognise that the Public Service Pay Commission recommended pay increases for nurses late last year, which is being implemented at a cost of €20 million. For instance, the annual salary for a newly qualified staff nurse will increase from €29,056 to €36,196, an increase of €7,140 or 25%. The annual salary for a staff nurse on point 6 of the payscale has increased from €36,383 to €43,356, an increase of €6,973 or 19%. Clinical midwife managers were not given recognition previously for their expertise and it is important to give them recognition. The annual salary for a clinical midwife manager has increased from €48,361 to €52,611, an increase of €4,251. The Government has introduced salary increases following the recommendations made by the Public Service Pay Commission, but we need to consider other areas to deal with the industrial dispute. We must take on board the issues that I raised yesterday such as the recognition of qualifications and adequately compensating anyone who takes time off as study leave to improve his or her skills.

There is a set figure for public pay. The one challenge, which I have stated repeatedly, is that a person pays the higher rate of tax at a very early stage here in Ireland compared with the UK where a person can earn £50,000 before going onto the higher rate of tax. Many people in other political parties have resisted that change, but if we want to make progress in this country, and while I agree that people must pay their fair share of tax, they should not be penalised for getting a qualification and providing a service that is needed in this country.