Interest in nursing in the Republic will increase with the move towards degree status and the recommendations of the Commission on Nursing, according to Ms Sheila O'Malley, president of An Bord Altranais.
Speaking at the announcement of the 1999 Competition for the Recruitment of Student Nurses yesterday, Ms O'Malley said it was the first year that the recruitment of student nurses would be handled by the new Nursing Careers Centre.
This should provide a sufficiently large pool of applicants to fill posts, not just in general nursing, but also in psychiatric nursing.
"In 1998 there were over 10,000 inquiries about nursing programmes. There were 3,900 applicants for just under 1,000 places in general and psychiatric nursing," she said.