Nurses’ demands ‘would cost €1bn’

THE Taoiseach has said that meeting nurses’ pay and other demands would cost the State between €500 million and €1 billion and indicated the Government could not agree to such sums.

Mr Ahern said that under the terms of the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, a 10% pay increase was on offer to nurses but they had rejected it.

“The nurses have refused to sign up to the terms of that agreement, which applies across the entire public service and the private sector,” Mr Ahern told the Dáil. “This is the only reason they have not received their first phase increase, as all the other public servants have.”