Irish nurses look for greener pastures



The Irish Government, faced with one of the most severe economic crises since the 1930s, has slashed the public sector, with Irish nurses, teachers and police taking massive hits in pay and conditions.

This policy approach is the opposite of that taken by countries like Australia, Britain, the United States and China, which opted for government intervention in the economy to maintain employment and living standards.

Irish nurses have had a 20 per cent pay cut, been burdened with a raft of new taxes and seen their personal finances devastated by crumbling house prices.

Laura Strain, now working at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, worked as an ICU nurse in various hospitals around Dublin for eight years from 2002.

She says that when the global financial crisis hit in 2007 public sector pay increases that were negotiated by unions were frozen by the Government in breach of agreements.

Laura says her take home pay dropped from 600 euros a week to 500 euros a week or over 5000 euros a year – equivalent to $7,300.  

“Then, at the beginning of 2009, the Government started introducing pay cuts across the public sector and placed an embargo on staffing. They weren’t replacing nurses, teachers or police,’ she said.

Laura says all the 2009 nursing graduates went to England after the British Government did a recruitment drive.

“After investing in four years of university training, the Irish Government let them go,” she said.

Not only did the Government cut wages but it also introduced an income levy of 2 per cent and a pension levy of 7-9 per cent Laura says her take home pay dropped.

Unemployment

According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics, Australia’s unemployment rate for April was 5.4 per while the OECD unemployment figure for Ireland was 13.2 per cent.

House prices

House prices in Ireland fell by 26.7 per cent between February 2007 and December 2009. International Researchers Capital Economics say a further 25 per cent drop is still likely.
Australian house prices increased by 12.3 per cent in the year to December 2007,
dropped by 3.3 per cent in 2008 and by 13.6 per cent in the year ending December 2009 (ABS).

Republished from The Lamp, May 2010. The Lamp is published by the NSW Nurses Association.