Over 75,000 nurses and midwives are currently practising in Ireland, the vast majority of whom are women, a new report from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI) has shown.

According to the report, State of the Register 2022, as of June 1 of this year, there were 81,431 nurses and midwives on the NMBI register. Of these, 75,871 self-declared as currently practising. Some 66,471 said they were working in patient-facing roles.

Over 90% of all nurses and midwives registered in Ireland are women and 68% of all practising nurses and midwives are under the age of 50. Almost 4% are above the age of 65.

Meanwhile, the report showed that in the 12 months between June 1, 2021, and May 31, 2022, 4,937 applicants joined the register and 61% of these were from outside the EU. Just 32% of these new registrants qualified in Ireland.

The top overseas countries for new registrants were India (2,364), the Philippines (391), the UK (250) and Zimbabwe (132)¹². 

According to NMBI director of registration, Dr Ray Healy, an increasing number of applicants are coming from overseas.

“In recent months, NMBI has focused on increasing the number of decision letters issued to overseas applicants who wish to join the register and there has been a significant increase on 2021. Decision letters allow applicants to fulfil a compensation measure through either an exam or a period of adaptation to bring applicants in line with EU directive standards,” he explained.

In the 12-month period covered in the report, NMBI issued 3,567 decision letters.

However, trends also indicate that the number of Irish-educated registrants is increasing, with numbers from 2021 the highest since this element was first reported on in 2015. An expected 1,800 Irish-educated nurses and midwives are due to join the NMBI register later this year.

Meanwhile, the report also revealed that general nursing continues to be the most common area of practice, with almost 55,000 nurses actively working in this area. The second highest number of nurses practising are psychiatric nurses, with over 7,300 of these.

According to the Department of Health’s chief nursing officer, Rachel Kenna, this type of data is crucial to allow for proper workforce planning.

“As a country we need to ensure that we are planning appropriately and effectively for the future of our health sector and the professions of nursing and midwifery. This publication provides us with reliable data on the nursing and midwifery resources that are available, including the core demographic details,” she noted.

The importance of this data was also highlighted by NMBI chief executive, Sheila McClelland, who said that the report “provides key insights for policy makers and workforce planners”.

“These insights will also be used by NMBI in planning future education and regulation initiatives,” she pointed out.

This marks the first time a State of the Register report has been published.

“This publication, which will now be issued annually, has been made possible by the digitisation of the annual renewal process,” explained NMBI president, Essene Cassidy.

The full report can be viewed here.