An Bord Altranais (the nursing board) has defended the speed at which it registers foreign nurses, amid claims that wards have been forced to close because of delays in processing applications.
Registration of nurses from outside the EU is currently taking six to eight months, according to Donna Roche, chairwoman of the Irish Association of Endoscopy Nurses.
Ms Roche told The Irish Times that one hospital in Cork recently had to close wards as a direct result of the "excessive time" taken by the board to process foreign applications.
In another Cork hospital, the Bon Secours, where Ms Roche works as service manager, Australian nurses who came here last January are still waiting to complete their registration process, she said.
"One Australian nurse who has a nursing degree and many years' experience has only yesterday been informed she will need to complete a six-week adaptation programme. The board had previously advised her this would not be necessary."
Critical areas were being affected unnecessarily and recruitment hampered by "the slow wheels of bureaucracy".
An Bord Altranais chief executive Eugene Donoghue said almost 3,000 applications from nurses from 49 countries had been received since the start of 2004.
Additional staff had been taken on to deal with the increase in applications and a registration helpline had been set up.
Mr Donoghue said decisions were normally issued within six weeks. However, errors or omissions were made in half of all applications, causing further delays.
A six-week adaptation programme is normally provided, but this requirement is waived when the board is satisfied that it is not needed.
"An Bord Altranais acknowledge that individual nurses may deem the process to be highly bureaucratic and unnecessary. However, we make no apology for processing applications in a most rigorous and secure manner."
Mr Donoghue said applicants were not informed in advance of the likely outcome of their application.
