Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are two elements to my question. The first relates to the issue of pay equity in the new round of negotiations. The Minister of State is right in saying that this morning the Taoiseach committed himself to a preference for change by agreement. However, he has also said - he repeated it this morning - that in the absence of an agreement he is quite prepared to legislate for the changes and reductions that are required. I do not know how useful it is to articulate that position in terms of the discussions with the trade unions, but be that as it may.

On the issue of pay equality, we had graduate nurses and midwives in today. They have a clear sense that they are being singled out for unfair treatment. They are being asked as graduates to enter the system at only 80% of the rate for their professional job. This decision was made unilaterally and there was no consultation whatsoever by the HSE or the Government with the representative bodies. The Minister of State makes noises about change by agreement, followed by sotto voce soundings about legislating if no agreement is forthcoming, but all of that is blown out of the water by the fact that in the case of these young graduates, the Government has acted unilaterally.

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