The Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, and the nursing unions have welcomed the findings of the Report of the Commission on Nursing. However, the unions have criticised the Minister's failure to give a commitment that the recommendations on pay will be referred to the Labour Court immediately.
Mr Cowen said yesterday that he would be taking immediate action on six of the main recommendations. These include the restructuring of An Bord Altranais and the establishment of a National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing and Midwifery.
The changes to An Bord Altranais will aim to make it more flexible in its procedures and relevant to the needs of nurses. The new council will take over responsibility for the educational development of nurses and midwives. It will also monitor the development of new specialist posts, which are a key proposal of the commission aimed at restructuring the profession.
Mr Cowen said at the publication of the report last night that he would also establish a representative forum "to prepare the ground" for the upgrading of the diploma course for nurses to full degree status.
Other areas where he promised early progress include the establishment of a planning and development unit for nursing and midwifery in each of the eight health board regions. These would have responsibility for co-ordinating the delivery of services and improving co-ordination between health boards and the relevant voluntary bodies.
He will also strengthen the nursing policy division of the Department of Health and Children through recruiting nursing consultants and researchers, and there will be greater involvement of nurses in the management of the health services.
However, Mr Cowen said that pay issues would have to be dealt with in the context of public service pay policy, with discussions "at the appropriate time with the public service committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions".
Mr Liam Doran, the general secretary of the largest nurses' union, the INO, said yesterday that the three key recommendations on pay had to be addressed immediately. He insisted they did not pose problems for the Government on public sector pay.
"We would argue that in developing the ward sister role, for example, to clinical nurse manager, the new salary and conditions of employment should be agreed and implemented in full without any limitation under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, or Partnership 2000." These proposals, he said, had originated from the Labour Court's settlement of last year's dispute and did not represent a challenge to public sector pay policy.
The nursing officer of SIPTU, Mr Oliver McDonagh, said he was also concerned that the Government was not implementing the commission's proposals on pay immediately. The approach being adopted, he said, was incomplete and disappointing.