Irish Nursing Union To Address Staff Shortages Via Balloting

The Irish nursing union, which comprises The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Fórsa, is to address staff shortages via balloting on Monday. The balloting is aimed at a request for industrial action from the government that is causing a direct and adverse impact on patient care.
The healthcare unions had planned protests in recent weeks to highlight the current issue at hand. The Irish nursing union wants the government to reconsider the recruitment restitution in the health sector which is directly causing a negative effect on patient care.
After a meeting on Saturday with the representatives, it was decided that a high-risk situation is lurking over Ireland which is now developing serious concerns for the senior union members.
When someone leaves or retires, their positions are not filled immediately, the union president Caroline Gourley cited, which is leading to an emergency situation all across the country.
Regardless of having a framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill mix, the recruiting needs are not met and the necessary fillings of the vacant posts are not taken seriously, she told.
An alarming situation is now building up regarding nurses’ mental health as they are constantly in a tight corner for two things:
- Attending the ever-increasing number of patients and their growing frustration after long waits
- And a diminishing willingness to meet their managers’ expectations to work past their duty hours for the sake of helping their colleagues
Miss Gourley condemned that “time-wasting” process for the application of exemptions to the HSE Pay and Numbers Strategy. She narrated that it takes as long as twelve months to recruit desperately needed numbers of nurses and midwives for the vacant posts. It is leaving the Irish health sector with a negative impact.
Concerns of the Irish nursing union
The Irish nursing union is of the view that a temporary suspension in Health Service Executive recruitment is leaving them with thousands of unfilled vacancies. The results are disastrous, mainly the inform of staff shortages and an enormous train on timely and effective patient services.
According to the INMO, several vacancies in cancer, palliative, rehab care and paediatric services are not filled yet. Also, the Irish nursing union claims that it requires stronger HSE management regarding working on off days, working after the shift ends and dealing with the increasing work frustration that is mostly due to patient wait time who are on wait for a longer period of time.
INMO is under stress too
The General Secretary of INMO, Phil Ni Sheaghdha said,
“Care that is provided from the start of life until the end is now compromised due to the HSE’s so-called recruitment caps, which are a moratorium by any other name, nursing posts are remaining vacant in hospitals and in the community right across the country”.
She further added that the already available nurses and staff are extremely “terrified” that they will not be able to prove sufficient for the increased demand in healthcare services and safe patient care is not possible without adequate staffing.

She explained that they are proposing that the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) should be given more authority to determine “what is appropriate safety critical measurement of staff that is required”. It would help in determining how intense understaffing is at the moment, and that blaming the nurses for wrong patient care would not be a viable solution.
Fórsa’s worries
Ashley Connolly of the Fórsa Health and Welfare division confirmed the severity of the issues that are making patient healthcare more difficult. Miss Connolly knew that healthcare staff are under great pressure for not only providing effective services but also are concerned for the future of patients if this situation persists.

The hiring and freezing of healthcare staff would further aggravate the winter crisis in hospitals, Fórsa indicated. The staff having to staff for a longer period of time just to help their already-in-trouble healthcare staff is now facing increased dissatisfaction from patients and the public.
Causes of nurse shortages
Recently, in one of the INMO surveys, 90 per cent of the nurses revealed that they are concerned about the safety of their patients. 63 per cent of the nurses have been thinking about quitting their jobs due to workplace stress.
A great number of nurses and midwives declared that the number of staff “willing to work” is diminishing fast and that Ireland’s healthcare staffing might “collapse” in the near time, Phil Ni Sheaghdha disclosed.
Another conspicuous cause for nurse shortages is overworked nurses, causing fatigue and disinclination to cope with the high demand for healthcare services while going unpaid for overtime hours.
The survey revealed that nurses feel under great pressure when they have to work extra hours and 15 per cent even mentioned not getting paid despite having worked overtime for 20 hours per month.
One more alarming factor that came onto the surface through the same survey was that one in every eight nurses had attended their GP for workplace stress management help.
Irish healthcare staffing issues with changing demographic needs
The latest article published in 2024 stated that an ageing workforce would be a great factor in causing staff shortages in Ireland’s healthcare sector which would pressure the government to hire an additional 13,000 nurses by 2041.
It would require the government to fund €1 billion annually to actually meet these needs within the predicted time frame. The figures are generated by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
PBO further indicated that even if the training places are doubled in number for the next 17 years within HSE, there would still be a shortage of at least 2,000 health staff per year. It would still put pressure on the qualified staff that has been within the industry over the past several years, who are now ageing, or the overseas qualified staff would become the only solution, costing even more.
The foundation of PBO’s data came from the figures provided by the Central Statistics Office, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, INMO and the Nursing and Midwifery Board.
The data results project the need for nursing and midwifery staffing as a comparison between the current and future 2041’s needs. For every 100,000 members of the population, an estimate of 868 healthcare staff is made. The prime reason is Ireland’s changing demographics and ageing population.
In addition to this, the increase in Ireland’s population, which was 5.15 million in 2023, to an expectation of 6.05 million in 2041 would put more burden on healthcare service quality.
The same report unveiled that HSE’s spending on agency nurses and midwives increased at a faster rate from 2012 to 2022, which was €55 million to €130 million respectively.
When compared with other notable regions like the UK, Spain, Australia, and the United States, which have an average salary of nurse/midwife being €42,300, €50,000, €65,100, and €78,300 respectively, it was noted that Irish nurses or midwives’ salary might account up to €49,400. The same cost has risen at a speedier rate than before if taking into account all factors like tutoring, managing, training, etc.
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It clearly implied that nurses and midwives make up to one-third of the HSE’s entire staff.
Here again, INMO said that a “laser-like focus on recruitment and retention measure” is the dire need of time when the hiring needs of nurses and midwives are to be met. INMO knows that the reliability of nurses and midwives who have been educated and trained in other countries has increased over time, which is chronic and unsustainable for Ireland’s future.
There is a serious need for training places and strong educational institutes in Ireland that should foster the recruiting of fresh graduates in larger quantities. The ethical recruitment of nurses and midwives would pave the way for Ireland’s stronger stance in healthcare’s future, guaranteed to go a long way, HSE said.
The Irish regions where the staff shortage is the highest are acute care settings, nursing homes and community healthcare services.
Ireland’s healthcare sector and its struggles in the coming times
To meet the needs of 868 staff members per 100,000 members of the population, there would be a need to recruit an extra 7,800 whole-time equivalents (WTEs) which would incur an extra burden for the government with €692 million, based on estimates of 2023.
With the expected increase in population and the expanding majority of the ageing population, a greater dependency on medical services is foreseen. If current situations need to be bettered, extra staffing is the ultimate solution.
The already existing staff either is facing extreme fatigue from being overworked and long waiting lines of patients that get frustrated as well, or simply want to leave.
One of the proposed solutions from HSE is that an increase of 868 to 953 per 100,000 members of the population should be considered. It means that a presence of 953 WTEs should be ensured in the coming years.
Handling staff turnover is another challenge. Previously, the turnover rate was 6.4 per cent in 2020, which rose higher to 9.9 per cent in 2022. With a limited number of nursing graduates coming out of the institutes each year, managing healthcare staff turnover might become irrepressible.
Health Service Executive’s (HSE) response
On the other hand, HSE mentioned the action of the Irish nursing union as “regrettable” despite arranging additional funding for health services. It said that it was unprecedented that by the end of 2024, an addition of 129,000 whole-time equivalent staff would be allowed to enter the Irish workforce along with its Pay and Numbers Strategy that has allowed it to stabilise its workforce stats.
One of HSE’s spokespersons said that the firm welcomes additional development and funding for 2025 that would help cater for the needs of the healthcare workforce. The six divisions of HSE Health Regions are provided with their own specified number of whole-time equivalent staff. The numbers were approved for replacement and recruiting of staff based on each region’s own priorities.
HSE elucidated that the Irish nursing union should not have taken such action and their intention to balloting for addressing staff shortages seems unreasonable in spite of funding for every region.
FAQs
What is the Irish nursing union, and which organisations are involved?
- The Irish nursing union comprises two main organisations: the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Fórsa. Both are key advocates for the welfare of nurses and midwives in Ireland.
Why is the Irish nursing union balloting for industrial action?
- The union is balloting for industrial action in response to the Irish government’s recruitment freeze in the healthcare sector. This freeze has caused critical staff shortages, which the union argues is directly affecting patient care and placing excessive pressure on current healthcare staff.
What are the main concerns of the Irish nursing union regarding staff shortages?
- The union is concerned about unfilled vacancies, particularly in critical areas such as cancer care, palliative care, rehabilitation, and pediatric services. The vacancies are causing an overload on the existing staff, negatively impacting patient safety and service quality.
What is the recruitment issue that is affecting Ireland’s healthcare system?
- Due to the recruitment caps imposed by the Health Service Executive (HSE), when nurses or midwives retire or leave, their positions are not filled promptly. This has led to significant staffing shortages, with posts remaining vacant for long periods of time.
How is the recruitment issue impacting patient care?
- The staffing shortage has led to longer patient waiting times, delayed treatments, and compromised care. Nurses are increasingly overworked, leading to mental health concerns and burnout, making it difficult for them to provide safe and effective care.