Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure whether the Minister was at the march on Saturday but a few of us were and it was probably one of the best marches I have been on for a long time. The only comparison I can make with Saturday's march is the anti-water charges marches. There was a great atmosphere. I do not think any workers have the same respect among the public as nurses. The level of solidarity and support for them was second to none. There is an unbreakable bond between the nursing profession and the public and that was borne out by the public support over the three days of the strike.

I speak from first-hand experience, as I was a care assistant for 17 years before I was elected to this House and I worked with nurses in many hospitals and various other care settings. Nurses play an extremely important role in society. They are extremely professional and passionate about their job. That is what it comes down to; they do not do it for the money, they do it out of a sense of commitment to their fellow human beings and to try to help them as much as possible.

Nurses do not want platitudes. They want attitudes to change in the Government about pay and retention in their profession. Nurses were very reluctant to go on strike. They wanted to be on their wards caring for people but they were forced to take action because this is a safety issue.

This is a pay issue. It is an issue affecting our whole public health system. It goes to the heart and soul of their profession and what we are fighting for in public life. What does it say about society when nurses have to go on strike while the Government paid bondholders €270 million in November, gives tax exemptions to banks and puts bankers on a pedestal? Meanwhile nurses do not get a fair hearing. The substantive issue has not gone away. That is recruitment, retention, pay and conditions for nurses. If hospitals are not safe places for nursing staff, auxiliary staff or care assistants they will become dangerous for patients and patients will die.

We will wait and see what comes of the Labour Court recommendation. We will take our green light from nurses themselves. The indications are that this does not go far enough and does not address the substantive issue of retention and pay parity. Nurses do not ultimately want a pay rise. They want to be respected and paid like other allied professions. Nurses have crossed the Rubicon and there is no going back. For too long they have heard platitudes from successive Governments and they have stood down. As Deputy Coppinger said, it largely comes down to the fact that nursing is a female-dominated profession. They have crossed the Rubicon and it is time for the health professions as a whole and the public health system to stand side-by-side with the nursing profession because when they win, we all win.

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