Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 1 February 2024
Public Accounts Committee
Appropriation Accounts 2022
Vote 38 - Health
Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2022
Chapter 18 - Health Service Executive Funding and Financial Reporting
9:30 am
Mr. Robert Watt:
I absolutely agree with the Deputy. It is not satisfactory and we are not happy about this dispute. We are not happy about the impacts and the specific impact the Deputy has referenced. The context for the resolution of the dispute was obviously the public sector pay agreement because it got wrapped up into the wider discussions around the agreement the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and his officials have negotiated with all the unions. I understand that balloting is going on. We are in the WRC on Tuesday. We very much hope that at the conclusion of those discussions, the dispute will end. We are very hopeful of that.