Written answers

Tuesday, 22 November 2005

Department of Health and Children

Hospital Staff

10:00 pm

Seán Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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Question 191: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the measures being taken to fill the 1,100 nursing vacancies in hospitals and health care facilities; if figures will be provided on the costs involved in filling these vacancies day to day by agency staff and staff nurses working overtime; the steps she intends to take to combat the fact that 1,500 Irish trained nurses leave here every year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35488/05]

Photo of Mary HarneyMary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The management and delivery of health and personal social services are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. This includes responsibility for recruitment of staff and expenditure of resources on overtime and the employment of agency nurses. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have these aspects of the Deputy's question investigated and a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

On the issue of Irish trained nurses leaving to work abroad, my understanding is that the figure of 1,500 is an over-estimation of the true figure. Irish nurses and midwives who wish to work abroad are required by the authorities in the host country to obtain a verification of their nursing registration from An Bord Altranais. Figures supplied by An Bord Altranais show that an average of 763 Irish nurses have received verifications over the past three years. The data from An Bord Altranais shows that Australia is the most popular destination for Irish nurses. However, it should be noted that Australia is a popular destination for Irish people generally in their 20s and 30s. It is my understanding that many of the Irish nurses who work abroad return to Ireland having gained valuable experience in overseas health systems.

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