The data indicates a heavy reliance on migrant nurses, driven by a shortage of Irish-trained staff
The study found non-EU migrant nurses constituted the majority of new entrants in 2022, representing 61 per cent of new additions to the register
More than half of the nurses who have worked in Ireland over the past two decades were trained outside the country.
The research from the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland found that over 50 per cent of nurses registered between 2003 and 2022 migrated from elsewhere.
For much of the second half of the 20th century, Irish nurses were widely regarded as the cornerstone of the UK’s National Health Service with tens of thousands emigrating to Britain to fill chronic staffing shortages in hospitals.
The RCSI study suggests history is now coming full circle, with nurses from India and the Philippines, alongside growing numbers from African countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana, increasingly playing a comparable role in keeping Irish hospital wards and care homes open.
The data indicates a heavy reliance on migrant nurses, driven by a shortage of Irish-trained staff.
Comfort Chima, Nurse Tutor and Programme Director at the RCSI School of Nursing and Midwifery,
Comfort Chima, nurse tutor and programme director at the RCSI School of Nursing and Midwifery, and one of the study’s lead authors, added: “Ireland’s healthcare system has relied heavily on migrant nurses for more than two decades, reflecting persistent gaps in domestic training, retention and workforce planning.
“The study said there is an urgent need for Ireland to increase the domestic training of nurses and midwives.
“Migrant nurses play a vital role in sustaining patient care. However long-term workforce stability will require stronger investment in domestic nurse education, retention strategies and coordinated national workforce planning.”
Despite significant recruitment of migrant nurses, Ireland continues to experience severe nursing shortages, the authors noted.
They added: “Ireland’s nurse shortage is attributable to the ageing population, longer life expectancy, and increased need for nursing services in care homes, a trend predicted to continue in the future.”
While Irish nurses have traditionally emigrated to countries such as the UK, the US and Canada, the study found this pattern began to reverse in the 1990s when Ireland started to experience “acute nursing shortages”.
The study analysed data from annual registration statistics published by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, registration records from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, and figures from the Central Statistics Office. Over the past two decades, the number of nurses trained outside the EU more than quadrupled, rising from 832 in 2003 to 3,879 in 2022.
Over the same period, the number of EU-trained nurses increased from 942 in 2003 to a peak of 1,748 in 2017, before falling sharply to 124 in 2022.
The authors noted nurses relocating from other EU member states peaked in 2017, when their numbers surpassed Irish-trained and non-EU registrants. The study said: “Following this peak, EU nurse inflows declined sharply, and by 2022 this group accounted for only 7.3 per cent of all new registrants.”
The study found non-EU migrant nurses constituted the majority of new entrants in 2022, representing 61 per cent of new additions to the register.
Dr Chima added: “Over time, Ireland’s nursing migration patterns have shifted from predominantly EU and UK recruitment towards increasing reliance on nurses from non-EU countries, particularly India and the Philippines, with growing contributions from African countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ghana.”
Meanwhile, the number of Irish-trained nurses registering fell from 1,787 in 2003 to 1,521 in 2022.
Dr Chima added: “Within the period of the study 2003–2022, it was 50 per cent, but the percentage had since increased from 2023–2026.” The study also found that the number of nurses per head of population has changed only marginally.
In 2003, Ireland had approximately 14.77 active nurses per 1,000 people – a figure that rose only slightly to 14.88 per 1,000 by 2022.
The authors described this as “a concerning trend” and added: “Ireland is not adequately training nurses to meet the growing demand of the healthcare system and population.”
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