Cabinet urged to row back on nurse graduates ‘scam’

A bid to pay 1,000 graduate nurses 20% less than normal starting salaries has been branded a “scam” intended to pave the way for a race to the bottom in the public service.

The plans dominated Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil as the opposition united to urge the Government to change course.

Sinn Féin’s deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said patients would not see the difference as agency staff would be forced to make way for cut-price replacements: “It is not a scheme — it is a scam. This was imposed without consultation.