Unions have welcomed a call from the Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) to enter into talks aimed at resolving a dispute arising from the Board’s attempt to increase its fee by 50%.

Unions have instructed their members to pay the existing fee of €100 in 2015 rather than the €150 demanded by NMBI. In a letter to the NMBI the Minister requests that talks are commenced in order to ensure that no nurse or midwife is removed from the register due to the dispute.

SIPTU Nursing Sector Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “The Minister’s intervention comes at a time when, despite repeated intimidatory statements by the Board, the campaign of opposition remains strong with tens of thousands of nurses and midwives supporting the campaign”.