The HSE has confirmed that it received only 92 applications for the 1,000 lower-paid posts on offer under its controversial new nursing and midwifery graduate scheme by its deadline of February 1st.
Nurses and midwives appointed under the scheme will be paid 20 per cent less than the current official rate.
At the beginning of the month, the HSE said it would continue to accept applications for positions under the scheme on a rolling basis. It acknowledged the number of applicants for the scheme had been low but declined to put a figure on it.
However, in answers to parliamentary questions tabled by Gerald Nash of the Labour Party and Billy Kelleher of Fianna Fáil, the HSE said 92 applications were received by February 1st.
The HSE launched the Government-backed initiative to recruit 1,000 nursing and midwifery graduates on two-year fixed contracts.
However, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) opposed the plan and urged young graduates to boycott the scheme. It said the 1,000 contracts on offer were not new or additional posts.
