Huge cut in Irish nursing salaries may spark migration

The Irish Ministry of Health’s newly announced nursing graduate scheme and its huge starting salary cuts is expected to spark a new wave of medical professional migration.

The Ministry of Health is planning to recruit newly–graduated nurses at only 80 per cent of the lowest wage paid at present to nursing staff. Fully qualified and registered nurses will now receive a salary of just €22,000, lower by €11,000 than starting salaries in 2009.

The NUI Galway Students’ Union has strongly condemned the scheme, with its president Paul Curley claiming the department is ‘shafting’ newly qualified nurses who have trained for four years to enter the profession. Curley adds that nurses are the people at the sharp end of the medical profession, giving the general public care and professional expertise while the high-earning consultants take time off to work privately.

One disaffected final-year student, Liam Loughnane, stated that he had hoped to be in a position after his graduation to begin his chosen career and start to clear the debts he had incurred during his four years of study. He continued that he hadn’t expected to become wealthy by choosing a nursing career, but considers the low starting wage is derogatory to the effort required to get a nursing degree.