By Chinedu Onyejelem

Foreign-trained nurses are now undoubtedly the lifeline of the Irish healthcare system, it has emerged.

Figures from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) released to Metro Éireann show that out of 1,783 nurses registered in the first five months of this year, 1,493 of them are non-Irish registrations – of which 897 are from EU countries and 596 from outside the union EU. Only 290 are Irish-trained registrations, the figures show.

Metro Éireann has also learned that the NMBI experienced its highest number of non-Irish registrations in five years in 2016. 

Out of 3,875 new nurses registered by the board last year, Irish-trained registrations accounted for 1,820, against 1,028 from the EU and 1,027 from elsewhere.

The numbers show a substantial increase in the recruitment of non-Irish trained nurses. Between 2012 and 2015, only 700 non-EU nurses were registered with the NMBI compared with 6,569 Irish-trained nurses and 1,662 from other EU countries.