The Irish Nurses and Midwives’ Organisation (INMO) has said that Budget 2026 “lacks the ambition required when it comes to scaling up staffing and capacity” across the public health service. According to INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha, the Government’s intention to only hire an additional 3,300 staff into the public health service next year “demonstrates a lack of awareness into the severe staffing crisis” facing both hospitals and community settings in Ireland.
“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,” she said.
“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”.
Ms Ní Sheaghdha also called on Government to “do more” to improve the cost of living, particularly near the country’s largest hospitals in Dublin, Cork, and Galway.
“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.”
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