The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has called on the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Department of Health to speed up the recruitment of public health nurses (PHNs), after newly qualified nurses in the Midlands saw expected job contracts put on hold.
Graduates told “don’t leave your jobs”
According to the Offaly Independent, up to 35 nursing graduates from the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) in Athlone had accepted job offers but their expected HSE contracts did not go ahead. They were told by text message, through the recruitment platform Rezoomo, not to leave their current jobs because the appointments were still subject to approval and budget considerations.
For new graduates who had planned their lives around starting work, the news was a blow, and it comes as many Irish-trained nurses weigh offers from Australia, the UK and the Middle East.
Spending controls in four HSE regions
The delays come as four of the HSE’s six health regions face tighter financial controls after exceeding agreed spending limits by more than 2%, largely because of overspending on staff pay, recruitment and agency costs. The affected regions are:
- HSE Dublin and Midlands
- HSE South West
- HSE West and North West
- HSE Dublin and South East
These regions have lost day-to-day control over spending and recruitment, which has moved back to central HSE management and the Department of Health. Their autonomy will return only after sustained financial improvement.
Missed child development checks
The INMO’s call follows a report by the Ombudsman for Children on the impact of missed developmental checks for young children. Public health nurses carry out many of these checks, and shortages in community nursing mean some children are not seen when they should be.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said the report highlighted the “very real consequences” of suppressed public health and community nursing posts. She described PHNs as “the only healthcare professional that are in every home in the country from the beginning of life to the end”, and said: “Recruitment must become a top priority in this sector of nursing.”
The union is also calling for more PHN training places and more support for students training in the community.
Context: Ireland’s nursing workforce
Ireland relies heavily on internationally educated nurses, particularly from India and the Philippines, and increasingly from African countries. The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) registers thousands of overseas-trained nurses each year. At the same time, Irish nurses have joined wider public sector industrial action in recent weeks over pay, and hospitals continue to report severe overcrowding.
Recruitment freezes and approval delays affect international nurses too. Offers that depend on budget approval can be paused or withdrawn, even after a candidate has resigned elsewhere or started visa paperwork.
Advice for nurses applying to the HSE
- Get a written contract with a start date before you resign from your current job or relocate.
- Ask directly whether the post is “approved and funded” or still awaiting sign-off.
- Keep your NMBI registration and documents up to date so you can move quickly when posts open.
- Consider community and public health nursing. Demand is high and the INMO is pushing for more posts and training places.
- Join a union. The INMO represents nurses facing recruitment delays and contract problems.