No vote
I would like to thank all our members who took time to come out and vote on the flawed proposals on the extension to the Croke Park Agreement. As you know an overwhelming ‘NO’ vote was returned. A great deal of hard work and commitment has been demonstrated by all involved in the campaign and this was reflected in the ballot results. I attended many of the town hall meetings across the country on this issue and they were very informative and some interesting debates occurred during the meetings from the floor with plenty of input from members on the ground. I was delighted to see so many INMO members in attendance.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all, most sincerely, for your hard work and dedication to this Organisation. At this point in time we are facing a time of uncertainty. However, I am confident that we will, together, take on, and overcome, whatever challenges we are faced with.

ODN conference
I was delighted to have been invited to address the recent Annual Operating Department Nurses Section Conference in Dublin. I would like to, once again, compliment ODN Section officers and committee members for the excellence of the programme and for all their hard work, which is done voluntarily in their own time.

It was great to see such a good turnout on the day especially in these challenging times. The speakers were excellent and the topics very interesting. It was great to have an opportunity to chat with ODN colleagues from around the country as I spent much of my career in operating departments in Waterford Regional Hospital.

A sincere thanks to Caroline Higgins who continues to represent the INMO as president of EORNA (European Operating Room Nurses Association) and also to Liz Waters and Sandra Morton, who continue to work hard on European Committees on our behalf. Congratulations to Liz, who was elected chairperson of the Scientific Committee in EORNAC – a great honour for the section.

I wish the ODN section continued success both at national and international level.

EU Convention
I attended a briefing, organised by Amnesty International and the National Women’s Council of Ireland, on the Council of Europe Convention on ‘Combatting and Preventing Violence against Women and Domestic Violence’. This Convention is the world’s first legally binding instrument creating a comprehensive legal framework to prevent violence, to protect victims and to end the impunity of perpetrators. It defines various forms of violence against women including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, stalking, physical, psychological and sexual abuse. The International Centre for Nurse Migration prepared a brief summary of key elements of the Convention which outlines the implications for nurses as service providers and addresses migrant nurses’ increased risk of being subjected to violence. For more details, go to http://www.intlnursemigration.org/

Brussels
I attended the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) 98th General Assembly in Brussels with Elizabeth Adams, INMO director of professional development where there were many interesting debates. It was great to see that our colleagues across Europe stand with us in solidarity on both the new graduate issue and the current pay talks. I was on the workforce planning committee where we debated the Irish situation at length. Dr Peter Carter, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing congratulated us on the high standard of graduate coming from Ireland. The UK has a shortage of nurses and they welcome Irish graduates to the UK with open arms.

Mini marathon

As you know the INMO will be taking part in the Flora Women’s Mini Marathon on June 3 to raise money for The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.

I hope to see as many of you there as possible. I will be taking part myself and hopefully you will join us afterwards at the ‘Cool Down Party’ in The Lost Society on South William Street.

Get in touch
You can contact me at the INMO headquarters at Tel: 01 6640600, through the president’s corner on www.inmo.ie or by email to:president@inmo.ie

From the President - On the ground with the president