Ireland offers contracts to graduate nurses to stem migration

Ireland’s Health Service Executive (HSE) is to offer 1,000 graduate nurses a two-year contract at a starting salary of €22,000 in a desperate bid to slow the trend towards migration.

Australia and other migration destination countries are attracting large numbers of health professionals at salaries of up to €40,000. Ireland’s Health Minister James Reilly admits that the salary he's offering is only 80 per cent of the normal start rate of a full-time nurse, but states that premium payments could push the amount to €26,000.

Medical trade unions, however, are criticising the pay offer. According to the HSE, the move will save around €10 million at present being spent on agency nurses and overtime payments and a spokesperson for the ministry added that the two-year contract would give newly-qualified midwives and nurses hands-on clinical experience, thus furthering their future careers.

Dr Reilly expects the scheme to be rolled out next month, but nursing unions claim that 75 per cent of 2012’s registration of 1,500 newly-qualified nurses will be forced to emigrate to find jobs. Seamus Murphy of the Psychiatric Nurses Association said the wage offered equates to €10.50 per hour, less than wages for Aldi sales staff.

Murphy added that 300 psychiatric course students are due to graduate next year, but most would be better off financially if they returned to their previous jobs. He believes it will be difficult to estimate the response to the HSE’s offer, as many qualified nurses have already emigrated.

Earlier this year, HSE’s incentivised retirement scheme lost the service a tranch of highly experienced nurses, who have not yet been replaced. At the same time, Australia’s push for qualified health professionals moved into high gear, attracting many Irish nurses for its shorter hours and generous salaries.