Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentation. They mentioned that they have notified their organisations' members about a ballot. Will that comprise just these two unions or will other unions be involved in that? I am just wondering about the structure of the ballot and whether it will be a co-ordinated event among a few unions.

Fórsa, which represents administrative and clerical staff, is not represented at this meeting. We hear a lot about there being too much of this, that and the other grade and all the rubbish that people like to throw around as though it would somehow miraculously resolve the healthcare system if we just fired a few administrative staff or something like that, which we know would not work. We hear about the impact of not having enough nurses, ambulance drivers and so on, but will the witnesses speak to the impact on nurses or other medical staff when those administrative and clerical staff are not supported, are insufficient in number or are also up against pay deals and so on? What impact is there on patients and their safety when that piece of the jigsaw is missing?