Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association will begin industrial action in the form of a work-to-rule in Árd Gréine on Tuesday 16th June at 9AM. Both unions have balloted their members  for industrial action following a decision by the employer to withdraw a proposal that would have 24/7 management on-site. For two years, local HSE management promised that robust out-of-hours governance would be reinstated.

Following the incidents that are occurring in the Northern Ireland and protests in Dublin City Centre yesterday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has called on the HSE and other healthcare employers to be vigilant of staff safety and wellbeing in the coming days. INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha said: Nurses and midwives will be very concerned about the racially motivated protests that are happening on the streets of Belfast.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), is the largest professional union for Nurses and Midwives, representing over 50,000 members in all disciplines and areas of the Irish health service. The Organisation provides a full range of services including industrial relations, professional advocacy, professional policy, regulatory support, and continuing education. The INMO is committed to delivering excellent service to its members on all collective and individual matters.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO), is the largest professional union for Nurses and Midwives, representing over 50,000 members in all disciplines and areas of the Irish health service. The Organisation provides a full range of services including industrial relations, professional advocacy, professional policy, regulatory support, and continuing education. The INMO is committed to delivering excellent service to its members on all collective and individual matters.

The INMO, as the largest professional union for Nurses and Midwives, represents circa 40,000 members in all disciplines and areas of the Irish health service. The Organisation provides a full range of services including industrial relations, professional advocacy, professional policy, regulatory support, and continuing education.

Our members are deeply concerned that the HSE proposal falls short of sufficient staffing required to deliver effective and appropriate safe care on day and night duty. There is a significant gap between the staffing levels in comparable facilities and those being proposed in Killarney Community Hospital.

The INMO welcomes the position taken by Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeil, in relation to the delivery of health care via the public system. However, the union has noted this does require a significant rethink of the finances, particularity to increase capacity and provide safe staffing.

The number of people on trolleys in May has been far too high. We are seeing regular occurrences of daily trolley counts of over 500 people being treated on trolleys, chairs, or other inappropriate bed spaces. It is clear that the political system needs to act and introduce vital legislation to underpin safe nurse and midwife staffing with legislation. Nurses and midwives have made it clear that staffing deficits are impacting their ability to provide safe and timely care.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has announced it is to ballot its members in Cork University Hospital’s Theatre Department for industrial action. The union has announced its intention to ballot for industrial action in the backdrop of insufficient staffing in the theatre department of CUH including thousands of hours of time-in-lieu owed, a misuse of the on-call system, significant overruns and unsafe staffing.

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association have served notice of industrial action in the Donegal Intellectual Disability Services, Árd na Gréine. The industrial action in the form of a work-to-rule will begin on June 2nd 2026. INMO and PNA members will hold a lunchtime protest on May 27th. Both unions have balloted their members following a decision by the employer to withdraw a proposal that would have 24/7 management on-site.