Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What is required here is not an intervention by the Labour Court or any other third party but for the Taoiseach to keep his word. That is what he has failed to do. We heard this line before about nursing staff and midwives and now we hear it about chefs and healthcare assistants. The Taoiseach waxes lyrical about their contribution to the system but he is not prepared to pay them. As Head of Government, he is not prepared to ensure that, for example, a grade 2 chef whose entry level pay is €24,000, which is hardly a fortune, and similar workers are fairly paid. The Taoiseach accepted the need for job evaluation, signed on the dotted line for it and now he is not prepared to honour the outcome of that process. That is the reality of this dispute and that is why there will be strike action tomorrow. The only way to avert that is not to reach for a third party but for the Taoiseach to keep his word and respect these low-paid workers.

See this speech in context