David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. First, I want to say to Ms Chambers how sorry I am that she has experienced abuse and aggression. To hear of anybody who works in any profession being spat on or threatened verbally is unacceptable, and I know many of her colleagues have been assaulted as well.

The figures for 2022 are going to be similar to 2021. By the end of October, we were getting close to 5,000 instances. I imagine the number of assaults that were reported the previous year was exceeded and, as has been said, such incidents are under-reported. We need to take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse, aggression and assaults, verbal or physical. We have been here previously. We had a session similar to this last year. Many recommendations were made by the representative bodies regarding the HSA. Recommendations were made for the Department, the HSA and the HSE but they have not been implemented, which is a worry.

I wish to make a point about the highly pressurised work environment, which was a point made by all the representative bodies. I accept, of course, that hospital overcrowding, unsafe staffing levels and capacity issues are impacting patient care, which can create frustration. That point has been made and it is one of the reasons we are seeing high levels of assaults. We must say there is no excuse or justification for such a level of assaults. As political leaders, we must send out that message loud and clear from this session. There can be no excuse whatsoever.

I endorse the recommendations that have been proposed. We need to hear from the HSA. It is reasonable that there should be a separate division dealing with health. We have a similar setup in respect of agriculture and other areas. We should take such an approach in health. It makes sense.

I also endorse the call by the representative bodies for the safe staffing and skills mix framework to be put on a legislative basis because that means it has to be implemented. It would mean it is the law rather than as aspiration. That would also be helpful. Many sensible proposals have been made that need to be actioned.

I also raise an issue that was first raised with me on the "Lunchtime Live" programme on Newstalk. I have spoken to some of the witnesses about this issue. It relates to bullying and harassment. We are talking about a highly pressurised work environment and one of the most heavily assaulted front-line workforces in Europe if the relevant figures are right, which is completely unacceptable. We need to do all the things that have been advocated for to provide for additional security. Bullying and harassment are also serious issues. Perhaps I can start with the representatives of the INMO and ask about their experience of those issues and what more needs to be done. The focus on this issue started with an email from someone called "Kate", which is not her real name. She was a nurse who left the system. Since then, the floodgates have opened. Newstalk's "Lunchtime Live" received dozens if not hundreds of emails. I also received many emails after that programme aired. I will also ask that question of some of the other unions that are represented at the meeting. It is a serious issue. In any workplace, we need a zero-tolerance approach to bullying. If bullying and harassment are added to all the other issues in the highly pressurised environment of healthcare, a difficult situation is created. Ms Chambers said she does not feel safe going to work. We need to make our hospitals as good a place for people to work as possible. Some people have good experiences and we know that because they tell us. However, many have bad experiences. It is simply not good enough. I will start with the INMO because issues of bullying and harassment of nurses were not addressed in its opening statement. I will then move to the other witnesses.