THE establishment of a Government commission on nursing has been welcomed as a "landmark development" by the leaders of the nursing unions. The commission has broad terms of reference and the Minister for Health Mr Noonan, has promised the unions it will produce an interim report within six months.
He also confirmed, to them he has written to the Commission on Public Service Pensions as king it to give "priority consideration" to the nurses' claim for early retirement. These two developments are expected to boost Government efforts to avert a national nurses' strike on February 24th.
Nurses begin balloting at a series of regional meetings around the country between now and Friday, February 21st. The two largest nursing unions, the Irish Nurses' Organisation and SVPU held their first meetings last night. IMPACT and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association of Ireland are using postal ballots.
Mr Noonan told the four unions in the Nursing Alliance yesterday that a High Court judge, Miss Justice Mella Carroll, has agreed to chair the commission and produce an interim report within six months. Miss Justice Carroll chaired the Second Commission on the Status of Women in 1993.
The Government would put no obstacles in the way of the commission, Mr Noonan said and if Miss Justice Carroll required its terms of reference to be broadened, the Government would comply. It will number 12 to 14 individuals to be nominated by the Minister and the Nursing Alliance unions.
The membership is expected to include experts in nursing healthcare management and managing change in the private and public sector. There will also be a full time secretariat provided by the Department of Health.
The INO general secretary, Mr R.J. Madden, said after meeting with Mr Noonan that the Nursing Alliance was satisfied "that the terms of reference proposed are sufficiently comprehensive to embrace all of the issues identified by the Labour Court. In particular the alliance acknowledge the commitment of the Minister to the full implementation of any recommendation arising from the commission.
"We also welcome the decision of the Minister to ask the Pensions Commission to give priority consideration to the nurses' pension claim."
The commission will not be a pay arbitration body, but many of its recommendations will have financial implications - for instance, it will examine career structures and pay differentials' within the profession.
The SIPTU nursing officer, Mr Noel Dowling, who first proposed a commission, said yesterday if recommendations from the commission had pay implications, these could be brought back to the Labour Court.
The Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, estimated the Labour Court recommendation would add £37 million to the cost of the offer to the nurses. They had already been awarded £50 million by an adjudication process.
But Mr Quinn said the Government was committed to staying within its 1997 estimates. He has not drawn up proposals yet to claw back the extra expenditure through savings elsewhere. He said the award would have no knock on" effects in Public Service pay claims.
It remains to be seen if the Government initiative will have the desired effect on the State's 27,000 nurses. If they reject the recommendation then the commission and the priority treatment sought for them with the pensions commission will fall.
Union leaders will argue it would be rash to reject what is on offer in favour of a strike that might not achieve as much.