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

We have recruited over 3,000 more nurses into the public health service in the past few years. We have a national wage agreement that prioritises those on low and middle incomes in wage restoration and wage growth. We have a national wage agreement which, on the new entrant issue alone, makes provision for a needed and recognised wage increase of €3,000 to deal with an issue that has been raised in this House. I hear Deputy after Deputy say that while we need to pay nurses more, we do not want to undermine what is a collective wage agreement. These are the same Deputies who, when we were dealing with the issue of An Garda Síochána in 2016, accused the Government of undermining the national wage agreement. Deputy Naughten made a constructive suggestion on how the issue could be moved forward. In terms of the engagement that has happened to date, an attempted was made to deal with this issue inside the current national wage agreement. We then had a period of engagement for over a year at the Public Service Pay Commission that produced a report that was welcomed by many Deputies who are now criticising it. The Government is open to and trying to use proposals such as those identified by Deputy Naughten to find a way through this most difficult issue. Of course, the Opposition Deputies who are raising the issue of the plight and work of nurses today, something that is recognised fully on this side of the House also, are the same Opposition Deputies who the next day will be raising the issue of why workers in every other part of the public service are not receiving the same wage increases.

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