Billboards around Dublin could soon be carrying messages of gratitude and respect for Ireland’s frontline heroes – nurses and midwives.
A Dublin City Council committee will today discuss a proposal to plaster billboards around the southside with messages celebrating the work of nurses and midwives.
If the motion passes, billboards outside the country’s biggest hospital could display a “míle buíochas” for nurses by December 2020.
The proposal is being brought forward by Sinn Féin Councillor Máire Devine, to “say thanks” to nurses and midwives battling on the frontlines of a deadly pandemic.
Cllr Devine, a nurse by trade, told the Irish Mirror she got the idea from her own experiences working in Ireland’s hospitals.
“As a nurse, for years, I used to walk out of my place of work – St James’s – and see all these billboards everywhere,” she said.
“And I just thought, wouldn't it be great if there was something there to say thanks as you're leaving a long, long shift – staying past your time.”
Cllr Devine will propose the motion today at the South Central Area Committee, and hopes to see the billboards up outside several hospitals in the constituency of Dublin South-Central.
These include St James’s Hospital, the Children’s Hospital in Crumlin and Cherry Orchard Hospital.
She said she hopes the committee can move speedily and get the billboards up by the end of 2020 – which has been designated the Year of the Nurse and Midwife by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“This year, it's our year, and I needed that celebrated and recognised and thanked and respected,” said Cllr Devine.
“And especially with Covid hitting, actually to walk out of your place of work after your 12, 13-hour shift – just a little thing to say thanks.
She said the design for the billboards has not yet been decided, but added: “It’s got to reflect the values of nurses, the care of nurses and the long hours that nurses put in.
“Nursing is disproportionately affected with Covid-19,” she said, calling for a “speedy” process to get the billboards up by the end of the year.
“Covid has shown that it’s possible to act, and cut out red tape, cut out delays,” she said.
