Galway Talks with John Morley Friday October 9

Some nurses also raised concerns about newly qualified colleagues struggling to secure jobs.

The union is already engaged in a work to rule, with work stoppages across the public health sector due to begin next Wednesday, October 14th.

So how much disruption could patients face, and what will it take to resolve this dispute? To find out, we sent our news reporters David Nevin and Emily Chambers to the demonstration.

We're here today in support of ourselves and our public service colleagues because we're in a cost of living crisis and we're not making a living wage and some people are really struggling to make ends meet while they're working in their jobs and they're struggling to get a mortgage, they're struggling with childcare.

A lot of our new grads, having been given contracts within the hospital and we're losing them to Australia and other countries.

I think that's really sad.

Time now that the government take action and look after the nurses.

It's an absolute disgrace.

Our health system is in crisis and we are resorted to this now, picketing like this and it's a disgrace.

I think

it's about being there for your colleagues as much as for yourself because you know exactly the struggles that you're going through and you know that your colleagues are as well and this is a countrywide problem and unless we actually come out and unfortunately this is what we're driven to is the show force so that's why we're here today.

Well I think we all

work so very hard and you know we're here for the public and we go beyond and above and you know fair pay it's so expensive even to come to work now so yes totally agree all for pay more pay and conditions nursing conditions it's very poor conditions for nurses no young ones coming into the profession and then no young ones getting the jobs when they do qualify.

For you, standing here with your signed stand with nurses mid-wise, I suppose the proof is in the pudding of what the message you're trying to send, but how bad are things that you feel you have to be out here?

Oh, absolutely.

I mean, we're here to really, the bottom line is we're here to represent our patients.

You know, they are the centre to everything that we do.

But we need to be there for them.

And to be there for them, you know, the pain conditions have to be improved.

You know, literally in Galway, a lot of us live in very rural areas, travelling long distances, the cost of rent, housing.

And we're really looking at staff retention and vacant posts.

are not being filled at the minute and that is causing a huge crisis in staffing here and all of those things need to be factored in and we're particularly concerned as well about our student nurses who have just recently qualified and they are the next generation that's coming through some of us are very advanced in our careers but we care about them and you know the fact that we want to retain them in Ireland we've got you know really good training and we want to retain these nurses So it's a variety of things.

And then looking at young families, the cost of childcare, mortgages, you know, everything has really increased and it has a knock-on effect in everything we do.

So all we're asking for is fairness.

Yeah.