Louth County Hospital would 'suffer' without almost 60 non-national staff

The number of foreign nationals working at Louth County Hospital has been revealed, with most being nurses or midwives.

Nationally, 12,000 non-nationals are working in HSE-run hospitals all around the country, according to figures obtained by Iconic Media under the Freedom of Information Act.

In Louth, there are 57 foreign nationals working at the hospital, with 36 of those being nurses and midwives. 

Six of those are nurse or midwife managers and the other 30 are all midwives.

Six are working in health and social care and the same number work in support roles.

Seven people work in patient and client care.

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We requested these figures following the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's condemnation of racially motivated abuse of health workers earlier this year, specifically those from India. 

During the summer, one Indian nurse wrote an open letter detailing racial abuse in Ireland after she saw an eight-year-old Indian girl being bullied and racially targeted by a group of Irish teenagers.

The nurse's open letter said he was considering leaving Ireland while 30 to 35 Indian nurses were also seriously thinking about leaving their jobs because they no longer feel safe.

The open letter said: "We came to Ireland with dreams - not big ones. We didn’t want luxury or fame. Just a peaceful life. Honest work. A little respect.

"My wife and I are both nurses. Like so many others, we left behind our families, our childhood homes, everything we knew to come here and help. To work hard. To live quietly. To make a better future. But now? We’re planning to leave. And we’re not the only ones.

"In our circle alone, around 30 to 35 Indian nurses are talking seriously about quitting their jobs — some are applying to Australia, some going back to India. Even doctors are being targeted now. You might’ve seen it in the news. Or maybe not. But we see it. We feel it. We live it.

"Yesterday, I saw something that broke me. An eight-year-old Indian girl, surrounded by a group of Irish boys and girls, maybe 15 or 16 years old. They were pushing her. Bullying and laughing. For no reason. Just because she looked different. I helped her escape. They ran. And I stood there shaking, wondering…what kind of place is this becoming?

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"We came to Ireland to save lives and now we’re scared to walk home after a shift. We kept going during COVID. We missed weddings and funerals back home to stay here and work. We followed every law, paid every tax, waited for every visa. We believed this was a country of kindness. And now? Now we’re afraid for our children. Afraid to send them to school.

"Afraid they’ll be treated like less than human — just because of their skin, their accent, their food, their culture.

"We know not everyone here is like this. We’ve met wonderful Irish people. Some have become like family. But that kindness is starting to feel like a whisper.....and the hate is starting to feel like a storm.

"I don’t want to write this letter. I want to stay hopeful. But hope starts to fade when you see that even a eight-year-old brown girl can be treated like she doesn’t belong.

"To Ireland, please listen: If we leave, it's not because we don't love this country. It's because this country stopped loving us back. If you lose your nurses, your doctors, your care workers don’t ask "why." You already know why.

"We didn’t leave because of money. We left because we’re tired of being afraid. Tired of being ignored. Tired of watching silence win. There’s still time. But not much. This isn't about politics anymore. It’s about basic human decency.

"If this letter reaches even one person who didn’t understand before then it’s worth writing.

"We are not here to divide. We are not here to invade. We are here because we believed Ireland was a place where all people had value. Please prove us right."

Responding to the staff figures, which only cover HSE hospitals and not private hospitals, nursing homes, care centres and the many agency staff working in our health sector, INMO General Secretary, Phil Ní Sheaghdha, said:

"These nurses and midwives make invaluable contributions, not just to their patients and to the workforce, but to our communities. There is no doubt that the Irish health service would suffer without the hard work of these valuable staff, and supporting these nurses and midwives to provide the best possible care and build the best possible careers in Ireland is a responsibility that should be taken very seriously by their employers and by the government."

As of 1 June 2025, there has been a decrease in the number of new registrants who were educated abroad but the number of Irish graduates coming onto the Register is steadily increasing year-on-year.

Nurses and midwives from Ireland accounted for the highest number of people in the profession with 54,436 registered. 

Nurses and midwives from India followed as the second highest represented nationality with 20,419 registered from there.

Canada had the lowest number working in Ireland with just 81 nurses and midwives from there registered here.