THE Government is expected to invite a member of the Judiciary to head the new nursing commission, once the terms of reference have been agreed with the unions today.
The judge will probably be a member of the Supreme Court or the High Court, preferably a woman, in the Government's view, because of the nature of the nursing profession which is overwhelmingly female.
The overall composition and terms of reference for the new nursing commission are expected to be agreed when nursing union leaders meet the Minister for Health, Mr Noonan, this afternoon.
There were informal contacts between the two sides yesterday morning and early afternoon, and both are keenly aware that the commission must be established and seen to be producing results as quickly as possible.
Later, the leaders of the four main unions met at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in Dublin to agree an agenda for today's meeting and resolve differences which have arisen within the Nursing Alliance. There has been considerable tension at both national and local level between the main nursing union, the Irish Nurses' Organisation, and SIPTU.
The assistant general secretary of the ICTU, Mr Kevin Duffy, is understood to have urged the unions to put their differences behind them. Afterwards the unions discussed the agenda for today's meeting with Mr Noonan.
The unions are expected to seek further clarification on issues such as early retirement and pay structures. Besides the additional £30 million worth of concessions in the Labour Court recommendation, which is aimed primarily at bringing staff nurses pay scales up to £21,000, the offer now includes increases already awarded to others grades and a higher ratio of permanent to temporary staff.
The union leaders are to meet this morning to finalise their agenda before meeting Mr Noonan at 2.30 p.m. Last night, the general secretary of IMPACT, Mr Peter McLoone, said the "main purpose of the meeting with the Minister is to ensure that the commission is not regarded by nurses as an attempt to fob off business into the future. Our aim is to ensure that the commission is real and that it will begin business immediately, if the Labour Court recommendation is accepted by our members".
Mr Noonan is expected to be asked to confirm his public comments that the commission will issue an interim report within 5 months.
Among issues the nursing unions will want to prioritise with the commission will be pay differentials for ward sisters and nurse managers and recognition of additional qualifications nurses hold.
Tomorrow night the INO begins the first in a series of countrywide mass meetings, in Tralee. IMPACT, SIPTU and the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland are also organising meetings.