Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have been speaking directly to staff outside Portiuncula and Roscommon hospitals, nursing staff who want to be caring for patients instead of picketing. I wish to ask about a commitment in the programme for Government that could provide a flexibility that is now needed to overcome the impasse in the dispute without undermining the national pay agreement. Page 61 of A Programme for a Partnership Government reads:

We will review the roles and responsibilities of various healthcare professionals working in our hospitals. This will include further transfer of tasks between doctors and nurses ...

Can this review be brought forward in order to avert the three-day strike that is planned for next week and will have a devastating impact on patients awaiting appointments?

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