Seanad report: Vitally needed Filipino nurses could be driven out of this country by unfair contractual arrangements, the House was told. Ireland depended on nurses from the Philippines for around one-third of its hospital nursing complement, said Dr Mary Henry (Ind).
Many of these nurses were enraged at the way their contracts were being implemented.
"You cannot give people contracts for a month at a time and have them having to renew their work permits at €60 a go every month, and try to keep themselves in accommodation, which no landlord will put up with."
The Minister for Health should ask the health service employers to have some sort of respect for people who were coming here and propping up the health service, she said. "Because we will find ourselves with none of them as they are being sought in Australia, in America and elsewhere."
Mr Michael Finucane (FG) said Filipina nurses had bailed out the health service by providing a very valuable nursing nucleus. "They should be treated with great respect because we need them." Dr Maurice Hayes (Ind) said he supported the calls for consideration to be given to the Filipino nurses, particularly those qualified in paediatric intensive nursing care. These skills were extremely rare commodities and were tradeable worldwide. Those who had them should be "cherished and supported" rather than otherwise.
Mr Tim Dooley (FF) said he was concerned that the nurses' spouses were not allowed to work here. They should be enabled to bring their children here and to live as family units.