Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As stated earlier - I appreciate that I am repeating myself but the questions are the same so it is only reasonable that I be allowed do so - those of us on the Government benches have no doubt about the strength of feeling among nurses and midwives regarding their terms and conditions. We have no doubt at all about their resolve and their willingness to strike and strike again. We also have no doubt that the public will be very much behind them. We absolutely want to resolve this matter. We are willing to engage, as is the norm, through the WRC and the Labour Court, the State bodies that have been set up to resolve disputes of this nature. However, that can only be done within certain parameters. Any resolution has to be affordable for the taxpayer. I cannot justify borrowing money to fund pay increases. It has to be fair to other public servants, including those who are not on strike, those with whom we have a deal which has been adhered to and those who work in the health sector as well. It also has to be fair to patients.

See this speech in context