More than half of nurse entrants are foreigners

MORE than half of all new entrants to the Irish nursing register are foreigners, it was claimed yesterday.

A study by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) found that 57% of those who joined the register in 2006. That compared with just 14% in 2000.

The college said the worrying aspect of that statistic was that most of the migrant nurses interviewed did not intend to stay in this country on a long-term basis, leading to concerns over a potential shortfall in nursing numbers.