I support the nurses demanding improvements in pay and conditions and call on Minister Pascal Donohue to immediately engage with their unions to avert any strike.
Nurses and midwives not only make a significant contribution to the health service, they make a significant contribution to society. They deserve our support in their demand for a better health service which treats all workers in our hospitals as essential skilled workers with dignity and value and which pays them appropriately.
I welcome the passing of a cross party amendment last night from Sinn Féin and others that calls on the Minister to sit down with the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses Association.
As a public representative, I have been well aware of the pressures facing nurses for the past number of years. Anyone with a focus on healthcare could see that overcrowding and capacity issues along with pay have impacted the lives of workers in our hospitals. The stance taken by the nurses is not simply about their own working conditions but affects the future viability of our hospitals which are already under severe pressure.
Nurses’ unions offered workable solutions a long time ago yet were never given serious consideration by the Government. There are two weeks left until any potential strike. The unions have signalled that they open to all forms of negotiation and want to see this resolved and enable them to continue service and develop our healthcare system.
