Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that significant pain and hardship was inflicted on many people in this country as a result of the economic crash. We have been working to try to rebuild the country from that point. We increased the minimum wage several times, particularly after it was cut by €1. We prioritised low-paid workers in the public service stability agreements and nearly all the reductions under FEMPI will have been returned to workers by the end of next year. Wages are rising and, from a metric point of view, inequality is beginning to reduce. Those are not my figures; rather, they were published independently.

The Deputy is correct that a job evaluation scheme was carried out and that the workers are doing complex and changed jobs. They are reforming their practices and working differently. I recently launched a new nutrition and hydration policy which involves our chefs going above and beyond their duty in terms of the types of meals they provide to meet the individual needs of patients. That is not the issue in the dispute. Rather, it is around the timeline, implementation and the phasing of payments. It is not beyond us to resolve this matter. We were making significant progress before the strike went ahead. The Labour Court is the appropriate forum to resolve the dispute.

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