Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I am very much aware of this contribution, I am equally aware of the contribution that many other public servants make to our economy and society. Deputy Cahill suggested in his contribution that we should go ahead and make additional pay available to nurses but not deal with the fact or the risk of knock-on claims. That is not an option for any government. Many Deputies have made reference to the fact that there are nurses in the Public Gallery this evening and that we must recognise the contribution they have made. However, the empty chairs in our Public Gallery would quickly be filled with other public servants who would ask why the same money cannot be made available to them. Agreements were made with public servants on the basis of integrity around our wage policy. We have said that a certain amount of money is available in any given year, of between one quarter and one third of what we spend each year, and that is set aside for pay. In addition to that, we have put in place a plan for €1.1 billion of additional wage changes and increases, all of which are deserved by our public servants. When we made that agreement with them, we as a Government, underscored by elements in this Dáil, said that this is the best that is available to them. On the basis of that, the agreement was made.

What would colleagues in the House say to those who are campaigning on and who care about the new entrant issue, particularly the teachers' unions? What would they say to the armed forces who are engaging with the Public Service Pay Commission? What would they say to all other civil and public servants who were told that this is the most the Government can pay them? That is the risk and the challenge the Government and the Oireachtas will have to address. If we say to a group that this is the most that is available, we will have to explain how that can be changed in the face of or on foot of industrial action. Let me be clear about two aspects of that industrial action. First, the Government will do all that can be done through the public service stability oversight group and the bilateral contact between the HSE and the nurses, to resolve this issue. The second point to be emphasised is that the scale and timing of this industrial action is designed to maximise the impact it will have on patients, on operations and on pre-planned activities-----

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