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Irish Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Government ‘pandering to whims of employers' by choosing VAT cut over ending child poverty, Ictu conference told
A decision to cut VAT rates for the hospitality sector rather than use the money to address the issue of child poverty is the latest in a succession of major policy mistakes made by the current Government, delegates to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) biennial conference in Belfast heard on Tuesday. Outlining the details of ICTU's new economic policy, Dr Tom McDonnell of the union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute said Ireland faced a looming fiscal crisis because the Government has become dependent on windfall corporate taxes receipts to fund day-to-day spending. 'If you have an economy that is in full employment, that has never performed better, you should not be running a deficit,' he said. The impact of the housing crisis on workers was repeatedly highlighted on the first day of the conference, with Mary Fogarty of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation citing the example of one newly qualified nurse living in Dublin who is paying 77 per cent of her take-home salary on rent. READ MORE There is 'very little prospect of a significant improvement in the housing crisis in the next two years,' said Dr McDonnell. The Government's commitment to cut the VAT back to 9 per cent for the hospitality sector was criticised by a succession of speakers, some of whom pointed to the estimated €770 million cost being almost identical to the likely bill for a proposed second-tier child benefit payment. 'We could be using that money to end child poverty forever,' said Dr McDonnell, 'but we're not going to do that.' The country's largest union, Siptu , said ending 'the scourge' of low wages was key to addressing poverty among families, with the union backing a motion that called for a renewed emphasis on increases to the national minimum wage and proportionately bigger pay increases for the lowest paid employees of private sector firms. 'There is a misconception that low pay is confined to the sectors we would traditionally view to be low paid,' said the union's deputy general secretary, John King, 'but the reality is that two-thirds of low-paid workers work outside of the hospitality, contracting services and retail sectors'. He said manufacturing, transport, private healthcare and 'even the high-income sectors of finance and IT have tens of thousands of low-paid workers' and the Government's response had been to 'pander to the whims of low-paying employers'. The morning session of the conference ended early, meanwhile, after organisers were informed on Friday that Northern Ireland First Minister, Michelle O'Neill would not be attending. Organisers were under the impression Ms O'Neill had had to attend a meeting of the Northern Ireland Executive instead but there was some annoyance when it emerged that meeting had taken place on Monday.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Thinking Allowed The Irish in the UK
Laurie Taylor talks to Louise Ryan, Professor of Sociology at the London Metropolitan University, about her oral history of the Irish nurses who were the backbone of the NHS for many years. By the 1960s approximately 30,000 Irish-born nurses were working across the NHS, constituting around 12% of all nursing staff. From the rigours of training to the fun of dancehalls, she explores their life experiences as nurses and also as Irish migrants, including those times when they encountered anti Irish racism. They're joined by Bronwen Walter, Emerita Professor of Irish Diaspora Studies at Anglia Ruskin University, who discusses the way that Irish migration offers an unusual opportunity to explore wider questions about the experience of immigrants and how ethnic identities persist or change over time. Producer: Jayne Egerton
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
From Cork to Maidenhead: An Irish nurse's story
A nurse who moved from Ireland to Berkshire in 1948 at the age of 19 to join the newly created National Health Service (NHS) was a "pioneer", her daughter has McCarthy was one of thousands of Irish women recruited to train and work in British hospitals after the end of World War Davies said her mother, who died last year aged 95, "absolutely loved" her job as a to Radio Berkshire ahead the 77th anniversary of the NHS on 5 July, she said her mother told her it had been "very strict" in the early days. The NHS took control of 480,000 hospital beds in England and Wales in 1948 but it was short of 48,000 nurses so an active recruitment drive was launched in the time, nurse training opportunities in Ireland were limited and expensive, making the chance to train for free in British hospitals with live-in accommodation highly the 1960s there were about 30,000 Irish nurses working in the NHS. Ms Davies said her mother saw an advert and decided she wanted to first spent a year working at a hospital in Highgate, London, on an orthopaedic ward before an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB), she said."About summertime 1949, mum and her friend wanted to apply for a job in Maidenhead," she said."I think working a year on the TB ward was just getting to them, they were seeing a lot of death."Nora spoke fondly of her time in the NHS, said Ms Davies, adding that during the early years she had said it was "very strict" but there was "a lot of camaraderie too".She said her mother had told her of dances at the local church hall which the off-duty nurses would attend and where Nora met her future husband. Ms Davies' daughter Ciara has retraced Nora's journey from Cork to working at Maidenhead General Hospital in Berkshire, as part of her university said: "I started in Ireland, we went to the original green rooms in O'Donovan's where the [nursing] interviews had taken place."Then to where she caught the bus from in Cork. We saw a little bit of Maidenhead but the original building for Maidenhead General Hospital was no longer there."There were some surprises about her life that I didn't know, such as learning about tuberculosis and what her life was like on the TB ward."Nora worked as an NHS nurse for 50 years, retiring at the age of story has been featured in a book, titled Irish Nurses in the NHS - An Oral History, which explores the life experiences of the Irish migrant co-author Prof Louise Ryan said the NHS described how it was "actively recruiting" in Ireland, with advertisements in national and local papers. NHS recruiters travelled throughout the country and carried out interviews with young women in local Ryan said: "Their travel was paid, they earned a salary while they trained - plus they got accommodation in the nurses' home."If you can image parents waving their children off on this mammoth journey across the sea to England – knowing there was secure accommodation was very reassuring – they were very well looked after." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
From Cork to Maidenhead: An Irish nurse's story
A nurse who moved from Ireland to Berkshire in 1948 at the age of 19 to join the newly created National Health Service (NHS) was a "pioneer", her daughter has said. Nora McCarthy was one of thousands of Irish women recruited to train and work in British hospitals after the end of World War Two. Janie Davies said her mother, who died last year aged 95, "absolutely loved" her job as a nurse. Speaking to Radio Berkshire ahead the 77th anniversary of the NHS on 5 July, she said her mother told her it had been "very strict" in the early days. The NHS took control of 480,000 hospital beds in England and Wales in 1948 but it was short of 48,000 nurses so an active recruitment drive was launched in Ireland. At the time, nurse training opportunities in Ireland were limited and expensive, making the chance to train for free in British hospitals with live-in accommodation highly attractive. By the 1960s there were about 30,000 Irish nurses working in the NHS. Ms Davies said her mother saw an advert and decided she wanted to help. Nora first spent a year working at a hospital in Highgate, London, on an orthopaedic ward before an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB), she said. "About summertime 1949, mum and her friend wanted to apply for a job in Maidenhead," she said. "I think working a year on the TB ward was just getting to them, they were seeing a lot of death." Nora spoke fondly of her time in the NHS, said Ms Davies, adding that during the early years she had said it was "very strict" but there was "a lot of camaraderie too". She said her mother had told her of dances at the local church hall which the off-duty nurses would attend and where Nora met her future husband. Ms Davies' daughter Ciara has retraced Nora's journey from Cork to working at Maidenhead General Hospital in Berkshire, as part of her university dissertation. She said: "I started in Ireland, we went to the original green rooms in O'Donovan's where the [nursing] interviews had taken place. "Then to where she caught the bus from in Cork. We saw a little bit of Maidenhead but the original building for Maidenhead General Hospital was no longer there. "There were some surprises about her life that I didn't know, such as learning about tuberculosis and what her life was like on the TB ward." Nora worked as an NHS nurse for 50 years, retiring at the age of 69. Her story has been featured in a book, titled Irish Nurses in the NHS - An Oral History, which explores the life experiences of the Irish migrant nurses. Its co-author Prof Louise Ryan said the NHS described how it was "actively recruiting" in Ireland, with advertisements in national and local papers. NHS recruiters travelled throughout the country and carried out interviews with young women in local hotels. Prof Ryan said: "Their travel was paid, they earned a salary while they trained - plus they got accommodation in the nurses home. "If you can image parents waving their children off on this mammoth journey across the sea to England – knowing there was secure accommodation was very reassuring – they were very well looked after." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Nurses 'proud' to celebrate 40 years of NHS care Nursery nurse congratulated for 45 years of service NHS nurses and healthcare staff offered 5.5% pay rise 'NHS needs fewer managers, more nurses' NHS Irish Nurses in the NHS - An Oral History
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Immigration resulted in great bonds born of adversity, wit and steely resolve
Diane Abbott's reflections on the experiences of the Windrush generation are poignant, in that they testify to a sense of solidarity among immigrant populations that tends to receive too little consideration (The Windrush generations were proudly British. Yet immigrants are still fighting to be seen that way, 22 June). The contribution of Caribbean nurses to the NHS is now, thankfully, acknowledged. My Jamaican mother was among that early cohort, but so too were a great many Irish nurses, whom she numbered among her close work colleagues and personal friends. Their shared acknowledgment of the petty prejudices of everyday racism that 'othered' workers from the Caribbean and Ireland was mutually supportive both in and outside work, at a time when such things received no recognition more generally. There are many more nuanced stories of postwar migration to be told. The moments of fraternity – born of adversity, wit and steely resolve – between Caribbean and Irish nurses in the NHS is just one of them. Paul McGilchrist Cromer, Norfolk Thank you, Diane, for your article. I remember clearly when these people arrived and felt sorry for them being forced to leave their country in order to make a living. At the time, I was a pupil at an excellent convent school in a poor, rundown part of north‑west London. Several girls were welcomed as pupils. Later, when a patient in hospital, there was a chronic shortage of nurses and West Indian women saved the day. I am sorry to hear that there was so much prejudice and sad to know that this still exists, and that Nigel Farage has such a following. Veronica Edwards Malvern, Worcestershire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
