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

The very fact that nurses and midwives are engaged again today in industrial action is a reflection of the Taoiseach's incompetence. The failure of his Government to address the recruitment and retention crisis now gripping the health service and his inability to grasp this issue has led to a national crisis. It is not good for taxpayers that nurses and midwives are on picket lines. Has that occurred to the Taoiseach? It is not good for citizens or anyone who relies on the services of the HSE, and it is certainly not good for the nurses and midwives themselves. I spoke to many of them this morning at Holles Street and St. James's Hospital. I was there to demonstrate solidarity, but more importantly to listen to what they have to say. None of them wanted to be on the picket line. They are very angry and upset, but they are very determined. They want to be back at work and doing what they do best, which is caring for their patients. We all agree that they are, after all, the backbone of the health service. They work in very difficult and stressful circumstances and conditions. The reality, no matter how the Taoiseach tries to spin it, is that their pay and working conditions have given rise to a recruitment and retention crisis within the system.

I spoke to one midwife this morning who gave an example of just how broken the system is. She works in Holles Street. On one particular day she was the only midwife on a ward of 12 women. There was a woman there who had just had a C-section who needed help.

The woman was in discomfort. The midwife told the story that the woman would not press the bell or look for the midwife's attention because she could see just how stressed the midwife was and just how chaotic the scene was. What kind of service is it when someone in need of assistance feels moved not to ask for help when lying in a hospital ward? It is unacceptable.

The Government's so-called approach to the unions was not only discourteous; it was also disrespectful, utterly inept and had all of the hallmarks of its mishandling of this scenario to date. The Taoiseach has now conceded on the need for engagement and that is a start. What he now needs to understand are the parameters of that engagement. They must include no preconditions, direct engagement by the Taoiseach as Head of Government and direct engagement with the nurses, midwives and their unions. Nothing short of this is going to work. If the Taoiseach is interested in resolving this dispute in the public interest, he will engage directly and with no preconditions; he will step into the breach as Head of Government and respectfully listen to the proposals coming from the nurses and their representatives and weigh them up. Then, if he is wise, he will act on them.

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