Budget 2017, a nurses story: ‘I may be €310 a year better off but my wage remains low’

Bernie Mullins, 29, works as a staff nurse in Mid-Western Regional Hospital Dooradoyle, Limerick, on an annual basic salary of €27,483.

She returned to education, paying mature student fees, and graduated with a first-class honours general nursing degree in September 2015.

Her hourly wage now stands at €13.50.