HEALTHCARE ASSISTANTS from non-EU countries who are working in Irish nursing homes and hospitals are demanding the right to bring their spouses and children here to live with them, after some have endured two and a half years of separation.
Roughly 1,000 healthcare workers, mainly from India, came to Ireland through a general employment work permit scheme that the Departments of Health and Enterprise introduced in 2021.
Despite the scheme acknowledging that the average salary for these workers in the private nursing home sector is €27,000, but the salary threshold for them to apply for a visa that would allow their spouse to join them is €30,000.
That salary threshold increases to €33,000 for healthcare workers to be able to bring one of their children to live with them here, and increases further for multiple children.
These rules mean that many of these essential workers have been living in Ireland, working long, hard hours on the frontline of healthcare delivery, separated from their families, and missing key moments in their children’s lives.
Varghese Joy, an Indian nurse and the co-founder of Migrant Nurses Ireland, said that because of the nature of the work permit scheme these healthcare workers came to Ireland under, they are now struggling to maintain relationships with their families and children over Zoom and Whatsapp.
“They have been left with no family support, and working in a nursing home, or in the healthcare sector in any capacity is a stressful and at times emotional job, it is tough when you are on your own, and worrying about your children who are in a different country,” he explained.
Migrant Nurses Ireland are calling for the wages of these healthcare workers to be increased to meet the €33,000 threshold, or, less ideally, for the threshold for a family status visa to be brought down to enable them to reunite with their loved ones.
The healthcare workers that protested at the Dáil today carried signs that said ‘Migrant workers need our kids’ and ‘We care for Ireland and our children’.
They chanted: “we demand family status”, and “We want justice”.
Healthcare workers from other non-EU countries made the case that they should be allowed to reunite with their children and spouses in Ireland. Many are trying to maintain relationships with their families over whatsapp while working in nursing homes here. pic.twitter.com/McSTTG3iqJ
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) October 17, 2023
Bincy Mathew is missing her children terribly – including her daughter who has cerebral palsy.
“I have been here for one year. My daughter is now 18 years old. Once she turns 18, I fear that I will not be able to bring her here. She is having some health issues, so to be away from her, it is very hard.
“One of the reasons I took up this position in Ireland is that I heard that Ireland is a good country for people who are disabled. So I am working against the clock to try and get my visa status changed.
“I am struggling too much, and my husband is too caring for our children on their own. My children need me too, but I am earning 7,000 less than I am supposed to to be able to bring them,” Bincy said.
Syamkumar spent seven months with his daughter before he came to Ireland to work in a private nursing home in Dun Laoghaire. He thought that soon enough, his wife and their baby would be able to join them.
His daughter is now three and a half years old. The time difference between Ireland and India makes it difficult for him to call his family on facetime, and he feels that he is missing special moments with his daughter that he cannot get back.
“I worked as a nurse in critical care in various hospitals before I came here. I am a highly qualified person, but I am going through an extensive process to sit language and competency exams to work as a nurse here – it isn’t quick or easy.
“Sometimes on a lunch break I get to see my grandparents, and my wife and my daughter over the phone but it’s not easy to arrange. It is making life here too difficult for me, too much of a struggle, I am not sure that I can continue, even though I love this country and I want my family to be here,” he said.
Nisha has two teenage daughters and a three year old girl back home in India. She has been here for eight months working as a healthcare assistant.
“It is painful to be apart from your children, at night, I go to bed with tearful eyes. I knew nurses who went to work in Ireland and I had heard very good things about this country, and in truth it is a peaceful and friendly place that I enjoy living in – but I cannot live without my daughters and my husband.
“Our kids are what we work for, and what we live for, just like everyone else. There are other countries that support your family coming with you when you go there to work as a healthcare assistant, I don’t want to leave Ireland, but we are all being forced to consider this option,” she said.
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