(Cavan-Monaghan): asked the Minister for Health the incentives, if any, that are available by way of extra remuneration to encourage members of the nursing profession to acquire extra qualifications.

Registered general nurses who hold qualifications in the following:

Midwifery

Paediatrics

Fever

Tuberculosis

Mental Handicap

Orthopaedics

are paid an allowance of £135 per annum in addition to their standard salary when engaged on duties appropriate to the additional qualifications.

A nurse who holds both the general and psychiatric nurse qualifications is paid a special dual qualified salary scale when employed in a psychiatric hospital or in a psychiatric unit of a general hospital. This scale is approximately £270 higher at the maximum than the maximum of the basic scale of a registered general staff nurse.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister agree that the difficulty is that nurses are not remunerated for having those extra qualifications unless they are engaged in work appropriate to the qualificatins? Is that not the position?

I believe this is probably the position,

(Cavan-Monaghan): Does the Minister not think that as an incentive to nurses to acquire those qualifications they should automatically lead to higher salaries when those nurses are employed in the public service?

Yes, when employed on appropriate work. As the Deputy must know there are approximately 23,000 nurses and consequently the rates would have to relate to the particular areas of specialisation and the use of the qualifications within those areas.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Would the Minister not agree that paying them an extra allowance when employed in the appropriate work is not an incentive to nurses to acquire those qualifications? The result could be that in the long term there could be a scarcity of nurses with those qualifications unless an incentive is given to them to acquire them?

There is an incentive to undertake studies in those particular areas. I am sure if there are areas where there is a particular deficiency that could be dealt with separately. Normally, if a person is interested in developing in another area, that is an incentive. There is an allowance for nurses in those areas on top of their standard salary scale to give them an opportunity to acquire those additional qualifications.

We must move on to the next question.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Will the Minister have another look at this matter?

I have called the next question and we must move on.

17.