A dispute has erupted over the decision by Minister for Health Mary Harney not to attend the annual conference of the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) which begins in Cavan today.
INO general secretary Liam Doran said yesterday it would be the first time in more than 30 years that the serving Minister for Health would not be attending the organisation's conference. "We hope her absence is not as a result of the public position the INO has taken, on behalf of patients, nurses and midwives, on A&E overcrowding and other issues over the past 12 months," he said.
However, a spokesman for Ms Harney stressed that she was unable to attend due to another engagement. He said the INO was informed of this some time ago and the fact that she would be unable to attend had been reported in The Irish Times three weeks ago.
He said Ms Harney had received an invitation last January from the INO to address the conference this Friday but had already made a commitment, last October, to address a medical research conference in Pennsylvania on the same date. He added that there was never a suggestion she could address the INO conference on an alternative date, such as today or tomorrow, instead.
Mr Doran said this was "disingenuous" and "mischievous". He said the INO had often in the past accommodated health ministers on other dates which suited them. It was still open to Ms Harney to address delegates today or tomorrow, he said.
However, Ms Harney's spokesman said her diary for these days was now full. She has made commitments to address conferences in Dublin today and tomorrow and will then travel to the US. He said Minister for Children Brian Lenihan would deputise for her at the conference on Friday.
Meanwhile, demands for a shorter working week for nurses and for nurses to be paid at least the same rates as staff in the childcare sector are set to dominate discussions at the conference. Today the INO executive council will meet to finalise the wording of an emergency motion on pay and it is likely it will result in a national pay rally being held.
INO deputy general secretary Dave Hughes said it takes 21 years for a graduating nurse to earn as much as either a qualified or unqualified childcare worker. Nurses were also the only grades working a 39-hour week. These issues are expected to be the subject of a Labour Court hearing before the end of June.
The conference will also de- bate a motion of no confidence in Ms Harney over her failure to solve the A&E crisis, and there will be calls for increased staffing levels in many homes for the elderly.