Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will ask a few questions. Deputies Rabbitte, McGuinness and Breathnach will then ask questions. We will ask all of the questions at the same time and then perhaps receive responses.

Does the Minister accept that there is genuine pay inequality between new entrant nurses and new entrant allied health professionals? Does he accept that the issues surrounding the strike and this pay inequality can be accommodated within the public service stability agreement? Does he accept that there is a recruitment and retention issue? Does he stand by previous statements he made in this House, in which he described recruitment and retention in nursing as a crisis? Does he accept that there are numerous cost savings which could be identified and secured in the context of better and safer staffing ratios, as identified in the pilot projects last year?

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