Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “12th, 13th and 14th February next” and substitute the following:"agrees that such industrial action is not in the best interests of patients and that every effort must be made to avoid the potential adverse impact on our health services and those patients who are reliant on those services;

recognises that:

— pay for public servants is currently the subject of a three year collective agreement, the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA) (2018-2020); this is being implemented through the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017 which provides for the gradual progressive unwinding of the pay reduction measures under Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (FEMPI) legislation;

— by end 2019 public servants on pay levels up to €50,000 will have pay reductions fully unwound;

— the PSSA is delivering wage increases in general averaging around 2-2.5 per cent per annum, with higher benefits for new entrant single scheme pension members and the lower paid, and the PSSA will cost €1.1 billion out to 2021;

— on top of the basic pay increases provided under the PSSA, the Government reached agreement with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) on a measure to deal with the post-2011 new entrant salary scale issue; these proposals will deliver an additional €3,000, on average, over the coming years starting in March 2019 to over 60,000 post-2011 new entrants, including 10,000 nurses; the measure will cost an estimated additional €75 million (€28 million in 2019 and €47 million in 2020) in the lifetime of the PSSA;

— in addition, the Public Service Pay Commission completed its examination of recruitment and retention in the health sector in August 2018 and recommended a 20 per cent increase in the Location and Qualification Allowances for nurses and accelerated promotion for nurses to the senior staff nurse level in order to incentivise nurses and midwives to work in certain areas; the Government has agreed that, if accepted, those measures would be implemented from March 2019, at a full year cost of a further €20 million; and

— the maintenance of industrial peace is an essential requirement of the PSSA; under the PSSA, the parties, including nursing unions, have committed:

— to cost increasing claims;

— to claims related to improvements in pay or pensions or any related matters;

and

— that all forms of industrial action are precluded; and

agrees accordingly that all parties should engage actively and positively within the terms of the PSSA, utilising to the degree necessary the provisions of the PSSA and the industrial relations mechanisms and machinery of the State in order to ensure that health services can continue to be delivered for patients without adverse impacts from industrial action.”

Of course it is up to me to endeavour to work with willing partners to resolve this, which is exactly what I am going to do. However, the level of revisionism taking place in the House this evening is simply breathtaking. To suggest that it has taken strike action to engage with me does not bear scrutiny. I am sure the INMO will confirm that there has been no time its representatives have sought to meet me when I have not been available to engage. Nor does it bear scrutiny to move a motion calling for engagement to take place and to use strong language around that when engagement took place yesterday and is scheduled to take place at the oversight group on Friday and on Monday when the Department of Health, the HSE and nursing unions meet again. As Deputy Lisa Chambers quite rightly stated, all of the industrial relations mechanisms are in place. The INMO, which is represented in the Gallery, is well aware of the comments made by Fianna Fáil spokespersons at the health committee on 11 July last. The INMO was extraordinarily disappointed by the comments of Deputy Donnelly who, on the basis of his own field research, stated that Irish nurses were the third highest paid in the world in 2013 and among the top five in 2016. That transcript is there for all to read in full, as indeed it has been read and considered, I am aware, by the INMO.

There is no monopoly when it comes to supporting our nurses. There is no one who cares in particular for nurses above and beyond other political parties. We all appreciate the vital role nurses and midwives play in the delivery of our health services. We also all appreciate that the Government and unions have signed up to a three-year public service pay agreement. It is one that Fianna Fáil respects under confidence and supply and it is one from which Fianna Fáil did not seek to deviate in budget talks when the party did not seek one additional cent to address the issues on which it now says it wants movement. When Fianna Fáil agreed the budgetary framework, it did not seek to deviate from its confidence and supply commitments on respecting public sector pay agreements. I respect very much the point made by Deputy Cowen on the fact that working within the context of those agreements is a prudent approach to take. Indeed, the oversight body to monitor the implementation of the agreement will meet on Friday. It will be a very important opportunity for all parties to see how we can endeavour within the context of the agreement to move forward.

The agreement in place commits to seeing increases in pay by 2020. Nurses and midwives can expect to see their deserved share of these increases beginning this year. Reductions for pay levels up to €50,000, which include a large proportion of the nursing and midwifery profession, will be fully unwound by the end of 2019. This represents a wage increase of between 2% to 2.5% on average across the sector, with new entrants and lower-paid professionals rightly benefitting most from these changes. The Government and I support these changes fully. Nurses and midwives are at the heart of our health service, bringing professionalism and compassion to everything they do. We are committed to ensuring that these skills and attributes are recognised and valued within our health service and that pay increases through the agreement reflect this. We are united in our support for this agreement that will see pay restoration for all public servants, including nurses and midwives. The Government is united in its support for unwinding pay reduction measures introduced under the FEMPI legislation. The agreement was sought in full co-operation and collaboration with public sector unions, including our nursing unions, and we are eager to come to a fair and satisfactory solution for all parties involved. However, it must be a solution that preserves the integrity of all elements of the agreement. I presume and hope that is the position of all parties in the House. Otherwise, it will have to be explained why the agreement can be breached for one group but not others. If we are respecting the integrity of the agreement, we must find solutions within that space. I am committed to finding fair and satisfactory solutions which preserve that integrity.

The issue of pay disparity for post-2011 new entrants to the nursing and midwifery profession has been highlighted in the past and this Government has listened. On top of benefits arising from the current public service stability agreement, we have agreed with ICTU, of which the INMO is a member body, to deal with the new entrant salary scale issue. This agreement affects approximately 10,000 nurses and midwives in Ireland who entered the health service since 2011. Starting in March of this year, nurses and midwives employed in the health service since 2011 can expect an additional €3,000 to their pay cheques every year. This represents an essential step towards not only restoring pay for nurses and midwives in our health service, but towards ensuring the recruitment and retention issues that have been referenced in this debate are alleviated. Issues of recruitment and retention in our health service must be taken seriously. We accept fully that the number of highly qualified nursing midwifery and medical professionals leaving the country is an issue that requires investigation. This is why the Government engaged the Public Service Pay Commission to look specifically at recruitment and retention in the health service and at roles in the public sector where these issues had been identified. The commission involves members with a wealth of experience working in trade union movement, including at SIPTU, IMPACT and ICTU. Nursing and midwifery was among the first of the professions investigated by the independent commission such was the importance attached by Government to the area. The commission's findings were clear and we have accepted its recommendations in full. This does not discount the equally clear actions recommended in the report which I, as Minister for Health, the HSE and the Government are considering to improve staff retention and recruitment within the nursing and midwifery profession. In addition to the benefits nurses and midwives can expect to receive from the unwinding of pay restrictions under the PSSA and the correction of salary scale issues for post-2011 new entrants, the Government has agreed in full to the commission's recommendations of a 20% increase in local and qualification allowances for nurses as well as accelerated promotion for staff nurses and to senior staff nurse level. This change represents a further investment of €20 million above the investment provided for in the public sector pay agreement.

Despite the nursing unions' recent rejection of the commission's findings, the Government is hopeful that through further dialogue and clarification, the recommendations can be accepted. We are confident these measures can support nurses and midwives in their essential day-to-day work and pave the way for growth and progression. The Government is committed to ensuring that those working tirelessly day to day are remunerated for the service they give to Irish society, as reflected by the public service stability agreement. I understand the strength of the unions' concerns and fully recognise that to have a first-class health service requires first-class support for our first-class staff. However, the industrial action proposed by the unions is not the answer and would violate the terms clearly set out in the public service pay and stability agreement. The proposed action risks jeopardising the numerous benefits people expect to gain from the agreement. I do not want to see that happen and I know that no organisation involved wishes to see it either. More importantly, it is essential that this strike action is averted to ensure that our health service can continue to care for those in need without disruption.

While my Department and the HSE will prepare carefully should a strike proceed and while contingency plans are being drawn up, I am confident that industrial action can be averted. We continue to meet with the INMO and PNA in order to resolve this issue. I am pleased to note yesterday's constructive engagement where all parties to the engagement agreed an industrial dispute should be avoided if at all possible. The parties agreed to meet again on Monday, 21 January, to continue engagement and the oversight group will meet on Friday. The Government maintains that a solution can be found through the State's industrial relations machinery and mechanisms, namely the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. I heard Deputy Donnelly seek that earlier and wish it to be clear that we will use the industrial relations mechanisms available to us. However, we must go through our engagements on Friday and Monday. We are fully committed to coming to a satisfactory solution for all parties involved which is in accordance with the terms of the public service pay and stability agreement which Fianna Fáil supports.

The proposed industrial action is a no-win scenario if it proceeds. It puts in danger the great progress we have made as a Government in recent years to improve pay conditions across the public sector and jeopardises the promise of increased supports I want to meet this year and in the years to come. Crucially, it compromises the very service we are all striving to deliver to those in Irish society who need our care to live healthy, fulfilling lives. I realise this is a decision our nursing unions did not take lightly and that they do not want to see industrial action either. I remain committed with my Government colleagues, the Department and the HSE to using the industrial relations mechanisms of the State to try to find a solution. However, it must be one which honours the integrity of the public service pay agreement to which unions signed up and which parties in the House and society more broadly value as a means by which to ensure the economic stability and proper management of our public finances at this difficult time.

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