Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Technical Group, I want to follow up on the two previous speakers who questioned the Tánaiste. Quite frankly, I know by the Tánaiste's body language that his heart is not in the replies he is giving here today. I can remember the Deputy Eamon Gilmore whom I sat behind on the Opposition benches for four years. He demonstrated righteous indignation with all things that were or were not happening. We were going to see Labour's way or Frankfurt's way. Is this Labour's way, to tell deliberate untruths and be mischievous about creating 1,000 new jobs? Nothing could be further from the truth. No new jobs are being created.

These are our health care professionals to whom, on a daily basis - literally from womb to tomb - we entrust our families and our lives. They have a vocation and are highly skilled. Whether they work in labour wards, intensive care, accident and emergency units or palliative care, they look after us with professionalism and dignity. These people deserve respect from all of us, but above all from the Minister for Health. They should not be abused, as he was quoted as doing in the Sunday Business Post last week, by telling them that if they do not like it they can lump it and do yellow pack jobs packing supermarket shelves. This an outrageous attack by the Government on the caring professions. I need not even mention the plight of junior doctors who are being forced to do slave labour, in spite of an EU directive that we have to honour. It is Labour's way all right - they ignore the EU directive when they want to. It is Frankfurt's way, however, when we pay the bondholders that the Tánaiste said he was going to burn.

I can see in the Tánaiste's face and body language that he is not happy with this answer today. He knows it is untrue. He is trying to sell us porkies over here, but we are not going to buy it. Above all, he knows that the people, including these nurses, their families and their patients, are not buying it either. I have spoken about this matter to people in South Tipperary and in hospitals all over the country. The Tánaiste knows better than anybody else that this is playing games and massaging figures, which he is very good at.

What value does the Government put on young medical professionals? Will the Government investigate the working conditions of junior doctors to ensure they are not in breach of the EU directive, and report back to the Oireachtas as soon as possible? Will the Government reverse the disproportionate attack which has reduced these graduates' pay? These are our caring professions and we do not want them to emigrate; it would be worse than the Flight of the Earls. As Deputy Martin has pointed out, he received a misleading reply because he could not get the number who have applied. Who would apply? When the Tánaiste treats people with disdain, he will get the result he sought.

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