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

At least the Deputy is honest. It is a rhetorical question. The Deputy knows full well how this works. There was a hearing in the Labour Court and it heard all sides and came to a recommendation. It will be up to the members of the two particular unions, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, and the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland, PNA, as to whether they want to accept or reject the recommendation of the Labour Court. The Government said this morning that it would accept the recommendation and, if the ballot is favoured by the members of those unions, we will honour it. When this dispute started, the INMO sought two things, the first of which was a down payment, some form of a pay increase this year. The Labour Court has recommended that. The INMO also sought a process that would create a pathway to parity.

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