Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill 2018 has been in committee since last October. Today, for the fifth day, 500 paramedic and ambulance crews are out on strike, with a sixth day scheduled for 10 April. The Government has appointed a new chief executive officer to the HSE, Mr. Paul Reid, who will earn €300,000 a year, a very handsome sum indeed. That should enable him, at the very least, to attempt a solution to this dispute. Does Mr. Reid want to pick a row with 500 medical staff over their choice of representation while the HSE and the Government are up to their proverbials in several health crises? Can we find a solution? This group of workers is simply asking that they be represented by an organisation of their choice. For the third time, the HSE has been written to by the machine of the State, the Workplace Relations Commission, asking it to come in and negotiate on this issue and it is still refusing to do so. Will €300,000 a year allow the HSE boss to sort this out or what will it take to stop the escalation of this dispute?

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