The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said Budget 2026 lacks the ambition required when it comes to scaling up staffing and capacity in our public health service.
The announcement today that the Government only intend to hire an additional 3,300 staff into our public health service next year demonstrates a lack of awareness into the severe staffing crisis in our hospitals and in the community.
In cutting the VAT rate for the hospitality sector, the Government has failed to heed last week’s advice from the Fiscal Advisory Council who said that the Government could hire 11,400 additional nurses rather than cut VAT for the hospitality sector.
Our members are about to work another extremely busy autumn and winter period where their workplaces are not staffed correctly. The HSE has confirmed that they have left 6,000 funded posts vacant in 2025. This level of inertia when it comes to staffing means nurses, midwives and other healthcare workers work short and patients spend longer on waiting lists and waiting for care in hospitals.
In order to ensure that nurses and midwives see Ireland as a viable place to work and thrive on graduation, the Government must do more to reduce the cost of living near the large hospitals in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The government will have to go further than a tax credit for renters to keep the future of our health service here.
This budget has done very little for working nurses and midwives when it comes to cost-of-living supports - no help with rising energy costs, no tax relief on trade union subscriptions, a mere €500 reduction in student fees and no reduction in childcare costs.
A laser-like focus on retaining nurses and midwives in the public health service is required now more than ever.