Housing still a priority for healthcare workers, nurse says

Healthcare workers need the budget health spend to be backed up with investment for housing, a nurse has said.

Varghese Joy broadly welcomed the key announcements from the budget around the bumper cost-of-living and social welfare packages.

However, he added: “From a migrant healthcare worker perspective, housing is a major, major issue.

“It is impossible to buy for a migrant healthcare worker in Dublin or other big cities – and because they can’t buy, they are still renting at phenomenal prices.

“So I don’t think there’s enough in this budget to solve the major issue that is housing.”

The budget’s healthcare package includes funding for the provision of hundreds of additional hospital and community beds, extra capacity in the workforce and the opening of additional surgical hubs.

Mr Joy, who is the national director of Migrant Nurses Ireland, said the measures are welcome in the context of a short-staffed working environment across the sector.

However, he cautioned: “Opening beds is always helpful to resolve the crisis of a shortage of beds but also the creation of jobs.

“But, to action it and to implement it in a timely fashion – there should be a concrete plan and timeframe.

“I haven’t seen that in the past, so I’m not fully confident.”