GALWAY NURSING GRADUATES SPEAK OUT AS NEW POSTS GO ONLINE

Date Published: 11-Jan-2013

The Galway branch of the INMO says its graduate nurses are ‘insulted’ by a new reduced salary scheme and many will emigrate rather than take it up.

The HSE will today start accepting applications for one thousand graduate nurisng positions nationwide, at starting salaries 20% less than existing nurses.

The initiative between the Department of Health and the HSE was announced before Christmas.

The INMO claims many new graduates who were already in employment are having their contracts cancelled – forcing them to reapply for lower paid jobs.

However, 20 newly qualified staff at Galway University Hospital were given 100 percent salary contracts on the 1st of January.

Galway INMO representative and community health nurse and Mary Leahy says graduates say they will not be taking up the posts.

But Eamon Gilmore said there was nothing unusual about introducing a starting salary for employees – and no existing nurses would lose their jobs.