Govt restores incremental credit meaning at least €1k pay rise for thousands of nurses
Nurses who graduated between 2011 and 2015 will be more than €1,000 better off from January 1 next year.
The Govt has announced that nurses who graduated between those years will have the incremental credit for their 36-week student placement restored.
The announcement today means that they will receive an extra increment, from January, worth between €1,200 and €1,500 depending on their current point on the scale.
The Minister for Health, Simon Harris, said: “I met with a group of graduate nurses recently and it was clear to me that this issue was severely impacting on their conditions and morale.
“I am particularly pleased that this restoration will also apply to nurses who graduated during these years but may have left the country and might be thinking about coming home. We need our nurses to stay and we need our nurses to come home.
“This decision will take effect from 1 January, 2017, and approximately 4,000 nurses who graduated between 2011 and 2015 will be eligible and will add over €1,000 to their salaries."
The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) welcomed the announcement saying it provides equal treatment with those recruited prior to 2011 and those recruited in 2016 in terms of pay.
The INMO said its removal sees the "elimination of this very regressive measure" and will benefit nurses and midwives, who graduated during this five-year period, and are currently working in the public health service.
INMO General Secretary Liam Doran said: "Today’s announcement, by the Minister, must be welcomed and we acknowledge his work on this issue since his appointment.
"It represents an important first step, which must now be followed by further initiatives, to address the deepening crisis with regard to nurse/midwife staffing levels and this country’s inability to retain these professionals in our public health service."
