Good news for graduating student nurses comes this morning with reports suggesting they are in line for permanent jobs. Liam Doran, Secretary General of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (IMMO) has said the overcrowding in hospitals has left him feeling worried about the winter period. He said: "I always try to be an optimist but I've never been as concerned going into a winter period…Overcrowding is getting worse, our staffing levels are very low, our ability to recruit is very limited, the management side and the government have not yet got the fact that they need to make recruitment and retention an absolute priority." Health Minister Leo Varadkar however, has stated there is a plan in place to alleviate overcrowding in hospital emergency department. It includes the recruitment of new staff and replacement of displaced beds. After meeting emergency department nurses yesterday, Leo Varadkar said the most important thing to do was to implement his €100m plan to alleviate overcrowding. It includes the opening of 300 more hospital beds from November and extending the range of home care packages to help older people exit acute hospitals more quickly. A report in the Irish Independent today says an internal HSE memo was sent to managers across the country giving them the go-ahead to offer permanent, pensionable jobs to this year's 1,500 nursing graduates.