Nurses union got €290,000 grant for exclusive website
THE country's biggest nursing union received more than €312,000 in taxpayers' money over four years -- mostly to set up a website which can only be accessed by its members, it was confirmed yesterday.
The payment of €312,644 to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) is disclosed in the report of the Department of Health into spending on the controversial SKILL training programme and other partnership funds.
The money given to the nursing union between 2000 and 2004 did not come from the controversial SKILL fund but from a €28m fund set aside for management-union partnership activities during that time.
Most of the €312,644 -- €290,000 -- went on setting up an education website to provide an online access to improve professional development -- but it can only be used members of the INMO.
The payout also included €2,000 to go towards an annual meeting of the European Student Nursing Group , €6,000 for a health conference and €14,000 towards another nurses' gathering.
The Nurse2Nurse resource is featured on the union's main website but it is closed off to nurses in other unions or those who are not unionised.
The department report also revealed that the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) received €50,000 in June 2004 towards setting up its own research department.
FRITTERED
It has already emerged that €2.35m was paid into a SIPTU account as part of the controversial SKILL traning programme for health workers, but much of this was frittered away on foreign travel, taxis with more than €300,000 unaccounted for.
As part of the department's investigation it also looked at separate payments to unions as part of the wider partnership process.
INMO general secretary Liam Doran confirmed it has received the money to set up an educational website which, he insisted, had benefited the health service by promoting the professional development of nurses.
"It is an excellent service which has proved very cost effective", he insisted.
The idea was first proposed by the union to Taoiseach Brian Cowen who was Minister for Health in 2000.
Most of the payments were made while Micheal Martin was Minister for Health. His policy adviser Deirdre Gillane, a former industrial relations officer with the union, said yesterday she would have had no role in deciding where the funds went.
Des Kavanagh, general secretary of the PNA said the union received €50,000 to start a research department but it was matched by its own funds.
He said this research has contributed to various health service studies, in particular a project on self harm.
A spokesman for the Department said yesterday the grant to the INMO was approved at a time of major developments following on the Report of the Commission on Nursing and the establishment of the nursing degree programme.
He said the website was an invaluable resource for "all nurses" but neglected to say it excludes those who are not members of the INMO.
- Eilish O'Regan
