Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I reflect what Deputy Ó Caoláin said. I am aware that the Minister of State has answered questions on this issue before but this has to keep coming up again and again because it is very important. I fail to see why the Department does not engage on this because it will not cost anything and it is not about money or budgets. It is about the right of workers to be represented by a union of their choice. That is vitally important.

Over 500 members of the ambulance service are members of the PNA and that is a huge cohort of those workers. This represents between 40% and 50% of the entire ambulance crew saying that they want to be represented by this union and not to be represented by a union that is dictated to us by our employers. That is totally wrong in this day and age. These workers demands should be recognised and the HSE will have to accept that it will have to work with a different union which is the reality of the situation. When the majority of workers want to do this, they should be allowed to so do.

See this speech in context