Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation
It was founded in 1919 after World War I, when a group of Irish nurses and midwives had a meeting in Dublin to discuss the issues in promoting an improvement in wages and advocating for a standard to be set for the conduction of their duties in the medical profession.
They encouraged participation in recognising these changes by recruiting new members and establishing a standard for nursing and midwifery practice through educational initiatives.
[2] Throughout the early years the INMO successfully grew a following and new members joined their programs created to increase numbers.
[5] Another step taken to improve workplace standards included publishing the names of the local INU members in the press in an attempt to encourage trade unionist to select from these midwives when their wives required one.
[6] The Irish Nurses Union had a base which provided a postal address for the public to contact the midwives easier.
[7] The union further sought for an increase in midwives’ salaries to seventy five pounds per year and a months’ paid leave.
Ireland remained neutral throughout World War II, but experienced shortages in commodities such as tea, flour and fuel.
[7] Shortages and tighter restrictions made it hard for nurses to travel to and from work and increased the price of living by 70 percent between 1942 and 1946.
The company introduced university level postgraduate courses which increased the INO's popularity among the Irish Catholic community.
[7] Free trade agreements and foreign investment in Ireland in the 1950s increased the annual growth rates between 1959 and 1973,[16] and as a result began a decade of prosperity for the INO.
Kyran Lunch was appointed as a full-time Industrial Relations officer in July 1977 to strengthen negotiation activities for the union.
[7] “some nurses feared their institutions were so short staffed that a patient might die yet remain undiscovered for a number of hours”.
PJ Madden became the new general secretary in 1998 and Ita O’Dwyer, Kay Craughwell and Anne Cody shared the position as presidents of the INO.
In March 2007, the Irish Nurses Organisation published a book of essays entitled ‘Forming EU healthcare Policy: A showcase of Irish involvement' to celebrate the INO's achievements of having four representatives holding positions as presidents of European nursing organisations.
This campaign was a success as in June 2006 ‘Toward 2016’ was established as a national partnership deal which promised a 10-year framework to plan social and infrastructure developments.
[25] This campaign was ultimately successful, with the purchase of sex becoming outlawed in Ireland under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act of 2017.
[27] In 2016, the INMO campaigned for a human rights approach to the health care system funded by general taxation, which was established by the state in 2016[28] with the launch of the all- party Slaintecare Report in 2017.
[30] This strike was received by the public with general support in their attempt to achieve higher pay and to ensure a safer and more efficient health service.
