Latest news with #ChristopherHughes
Irish Times
07-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
Newly-qualified nurses being ‘driven away' from profession due to high housing costs
Early career nurses and midwives are being 'driven away from the profession or forced to leave Ireland' as a result of the disparity between their salaries and housing costs , the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation 's (INMO) annual conference has heard. The union said newly-qualified nurses working in cities like Cork and Dublin are spending up to 77 per cent of their monthly wages on rent. The INMO on Wednesday opened its 106th annual conference in Co Wexford, with several delegates highlighting the impact housing is having on the viability of nursing as a career. The conference passed a motion calling for a housing assistance payment to be established for all nurses and midwives in response to spiralling costs. READ MORE [ Almost quarter of nurses, midwives saw doctor over work stress, INMO survey finds Opens in new window ] Christopher Hughes, a student nurse based in Dublin, said the salaries paid to newly graduated nurses 'do not reflect escalating cost of living, particularly housing'. 'Rental prices in big cities such as Dublin, Cork and Galway often surpass €2,000 per month for a single bedroom apartment,' he said. 'These costs amount to approximately 77 per cent of a newly qualified nurse's wage, which start at approximately €32,000 with an early career nurse earning around €36,000.' Mr Hughes said many newly qualified nurses were struggling to secure affordable accommodation and often 'live in overcrowded housing' or 'far from their work'. He said the disparity between early stage salaries and housing costs 'creates a significant barrier, a vicious cycle where talented nurses and midwives are driven away from the profession or forced to leave Ireland altogether'. INMO vice-president Ester Fitzgerald said that during snow earlier in the year, she brought a colleague home only to discover she was living in a house she had rented back in 1998. 'The soft furnishings, the couch, the kitchen table, the curtains were exactly the same,' she said. 'I think if my memory serves, we were paying about 500 pounds at the time and she is now paying €1,900 for the exact same house.' Ms Fitzgerald, who works in Cork University Hospital, said if the Government wants to retain young graduates there is a need to increase housing supports and availability. 'We're asking people to come across the world to rent houses that are totally inappropriate for anyone's needs and [they're] paying massive rents,' she said. Research conducted by the INMO found that in a recent search on for Dublin 8, 10 and 12, there were only 12 properties available to rent. The union said this was a concern with the new national children's hospital due to open next year on the St James's Hospital campus in Dublin 8. James Leonard, of the INMO's eastern youth forum, said 'too often we hear of nurses and midwives having to get two or three buses to and from work'. He said nurses and midwives were buying houses 'two counties away' because of rising prices. 'Nurses are moving from Dublin to smaller hospitals; hospitals are losing their staff because people cannot afford to live near where they work,' he said. Another delegate, Nicola Hurley, said her parents are psychiatric nurses and were able to afford a home on their salaries in the 1970s and 1980s. 'It's a dream now to be able to afford a mortgage on a nurse's salary,' she said. Meanwhile, INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said members have reported an increased prevalence of assaults and workplace stresses. 'We're now seeing assaults and verbal abuse increasing in areas such as maternity services, paediatric services,' she said. 'It's an unwelcome change.' She suggested it was a result of the general public 'waiting longer for services' which causes 'a huge amount of frustration'. 'Unfortunately, the person that you meet on any given day on the frontline is more than likely going to be a nurse.' The INMO conference continues on Thursday, with Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill due to address delegates.
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Overworked nurses paying thousands for ‘inappropriate' rental properties, INMO conference hears
Landlords in Cork charge nurses thousands every month to rent houses last renovated almost 30 years ago, a senior Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) official has said. Another nurse said a mortgage is only a dream now on her wages. Up to 77% of newly-qualified nurses' wages go on spiralling rental prices, the INMO annual conference in Wexford yesterday heard. INMO first vice-president and nurse at Cork University Hospital Ester Fitzgerald said she was shocked when visiting a rented house with a young Indian colleague recently. 'It was a house I had rented in 1998 to be precise, and it was — the soft furnishings, the couch, kitchen table, the curtains — exactly the same,' she said. I think if my memory serves we were paying about £500 at the time and she is now paying €1,900 for the exact same house. Ms Fitzgerald warned overworked young nurses are renting in 'totally inappropriate' houses. She called on hospitals to provide onsite accommodation, saying colleagues in other cities and smaller towns such as Mullingar face similar problems. Christopher Hughes, a student nurse with the Eastern Youth Forum, detailed CSO data on rents and house prices. 'These costs amount to approximately 77% of a newly-qualified staff nurse wages which start at approximately €32,000 with an early-career nurse earning about €36,000,' he said. He proposed a motion for a State-funded 'modified housing assistance payment' for nurses and midwives. His colleague James Leonard said: 'Too often are we hearing of nurses and midwives getting two and three buses to work, two and three buses from work because they can't live in the area where they work.' Christopher Hughes, student nurse delegate with the Eastern Youth Forum, proposed a motion for a State-funded 'modified housing assistance payment' for nurses and midwives. He is aware of staff commuting two-hours each way because they bought homes so far from city hospitals. 'Hospitals are losing their staff because people cannot afford to live near where they work,' he said, adding that working from home is not an option. A speaker from the Kilkenny branch said her parents were psychiatric nurses and bought a home on their wages in the 1970s-1980s. 'It's a dream now to be able to afford a mortgage on a nurses' salary,' she warned. She and other speakers called for Dublin staff to receive a higher salary as is done in London. INMO general secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha shared their concerns. 'Housing is a huge issue for nurses and midwives, not just our younger new graduates, but in general,' she told reporters during the conference. 'And we have real concerns in respect of staffing facilities, particularly the new Children's Hospital, which is smack bang in the middle of Dublin.' The union is aware there is 'some accommodation' possibly available in the old Crumlin hospital but it is not clear however if nurses could use it. Read More Majority of nurses say staffing levels pose risk to patient safety, INMO survey finds
The Independent
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Eggheads' Chris Hughes' last appearance on BBC quiz show before death aged 77
Eggheads star Christopher Hughes ' last appearance on the show has resurfaced following the news of his death. The general knowledge whizz, who was reportedly 77, was in the long-running series' original line-up after being crowned a champion quizzer on Mastermind, International Mastermind and Brain of Britain, and also appearing on The Weakest Link. In a statement, the Channel 5 show wrote on Instagram: 'Chris joined the show at the very start in 2003 and over the next 20 years gave us not only brilliant answers but very many laughs and happy memories." Hughes' final show was the "Bean Headz" episode, which first aired on 26 April 2023.
