Gilmore defends 20% pay cut for graduate nurses
Labour Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has today insisted that hiring 1,000 nurses on 80% of the previous starting salary is the right thing to do.
Sinn Féin told Minister Gilmore in the Dáil this morning that the scheme for graduates is "a scam" to drive down wages.
Fianna Fáil accused the coalition of misleading people as the jobs are not new, but will replace 1,000 agency posts.
Minister Gilmore responded that the scheme is "nothing news" and will help reduce dole queues, especially for younger people.
"The idea of a graduate entry recruitment scale or salary is nothing new," he said.
"That is something that is done across the private sector, it is done in the public sector, it has been done on many occasions in the past.
"This is about providing and creating an additional 1,00 jobs."
