Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the men and women from the National Ambulance Service who are here in such large numbers that they could not all fit into the Public Gallery and who are interested in hearing the Taoiseach's answer to my question.

Late last year, the HSE commissioned a polling company to conduct a nationwide survey of HSE staff. One of the questions was as follows: "My organisation clearly demonstrates its interest in staff health and wellbeing." For the HSE as a whole, the percentage who agreed with that statement was 42%, which is not great. The figure for the National Ambulance Service staff was 11%. Some 37% of HSE staff were satisfied with their pay levels. The figure for National Ambulance Service personnel was 6%. That is the legacy of the Government's austerity pay cuts. Some 69% of National Ambulance Service personnel had experienced bullying, harassment or both in the previous two years.

These are key workers, they do a stressful job and they work long hours. Many people call them ambulance drivers but they are a lot more than that. They are paramedics, advanced paramedics and emergency medical technicians. They are lifesavers and they deserve to be treated with respect, but they are not being treated with respect by the HSE and the National Ambulance Service. The HSE refused to negotiate with the union chosen by more than 500 of these workers to represent them. The National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA, is part of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, PNA. The PNA has thousands of members in the health service and a full negotiating licence, but so stubborn are the HSE and the National Ambulance Service in their stance, that they refuse even to sit down with the NASRA representatives to negotiate contingency plans for public safety on the days the workers' strike. The National Ambulance Service phoned its solicitors, those solicitors phoned the union's solicitors, the union's solicitors phoned the union and the union phoned the picket line and then the whole matter was put into reverse. It would be laughable if it was not for the fact that this ignorant management approach to industrial relations is compromising the health and safety of the public.

The first national ambulance strike in the history of the State is taking place on the Taoiseach's watch. On 12 March, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, told the Dáil he was confident the dispute could be resolved, but has his Department even sat down with the HSE to discuss resolving it since then? The Taoiseach might tell the Dáil. The men and women in the Gallery will be joined by colleagues outside the gates of the Dáil at 2.30 p.m. to demand their democratic right to be represented by the union of their choice. On 2 April, next Tuesday, they are due to strike again and on 10 April, they will strike again if the matter is not resolved. The Taoiseach should resolve it before 2 April. Is the Taoiseach prepared to take the necessary measures? Is he prepared to instruct the Department to sit down with the HSE before 2 April, instructing it to recognise this union and to resolve this dispute?

See this speech in context