Nurses are to be allowed to retain their permanent and pensionable status in return for working as little as eight hours a week, in an effort to keep them in the health services.
The move is part of a £5 million package announced yesterday by the Minister for Health and Children.
Mr Martin said it was aimed at attracting back nurses and midwives who had left the system and keeping those who were already there.
About 11,000 nurses are on the "inactive" register kept by An Bord Altranais. Of these, 3,700 are working abroad and the others have stopped paying their annual registration fee.
"If we could attract back even 10 per cent of the inactive register, it would make such a difference to the current situation," Mr Martin said.
Fees for "back to nursing" courses have been abolished and those undertaking the four-week course will receive a salary, based on previous experience, up to £1,500.
But Mr Martin made it clear the main purpose of the package is to halt the outflow of nurses from the profession. The aim, he said, was "to keep the brightest and best who decide to have families or who care for elders".
And in an indication of the strong bargaining position in which nurses now find themselves, he said the aim was to keep them in the nursing profession "on their terms". The new working arrangements "mean the job will begin to fit around the person, not the other way around".
Part of the aim of the new flexibility will be to attract agency nurses back on to the staff of hospitals. Last year about £15 million was paid in fees to agency nurses, mainly in Dublin. Features of the package include:
From February 1st, nurses can choose to work as little as eight hours a week and keep their pension entitlements.
Fees for nurses studying for the Higher Diploma in Sick Children's Nursing will be paid by their employers and their salaries will be increased while they are training.
New training courses are being established in Cork University Hospital, Waterford Regional and Limerick Regional. These will provide 169 places to train specialist nurses in areas such as accident and emergency and critical care. The aim of this is to reduce the flow of nurses from the Dublin hospitals to specialist jobs elsewhere in the State. Their course fees will be paid and they will continue to get their full salary while studying.
Asked about the concept of a "Dublin allowance" to keep nurses in the capital, Mr Martin said this was a matter which would have to be considered in the context of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.
Mr Oliver McDonagh of SIPTU said he welcomed the package but added that compensation for the cost of living in Dublin and especially for the cost of buying a house would be essential to attract nurses to the capital.