Up to 2,000 nurses and midwives have staged a protest over plans by their regulatory body to increase their annual registration fee.
In a joint campaign the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Siptu and the Psychiatric Nurses Association said the move by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) to increase the fee by 50 per cent to € 150 was unacceptable.
In a letter handed in to the board, the unions said they supported the concept of a strong regulatory body that protected the public interest by ensuring nurses and midwives worked in a positive clinical environment that encouraged safe practice.
The unions said they would be advising members to pay only the existing € 100 annual fee.
The unions called on the board to reverse its decision to increase the fee.
The NMBI said it regretted having to increase the fee and said the decision was not taken lightly.
It said the Department of Health had made clear the board had to be self-financing.
The NMBI said it had kept the fee as low as possible for as long as possible.
Gardaí estimated that up to 2,000 nurses and midwives attended the protest at the headquarters of the NMBI in Blackrock.
