Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his comments. I agree with him in the broader sense that we must change the whole system in respect of how the State provides such services and that will take time but we must also do something now. The behaviour of the Sisters of Charity means that we must put pressure on them through whatever levers we have at our disposal. It is outrageous. The people in question were lauded a couple of months ago and are now being treated disgracefully. That is not acceptable. The way in which we as a State have handled our relations with this organisation and others down through the years, not under the Taoiseach's watch, beggars belief. We need to ensure that the owners of institutions that provide services respect what they are undertaking and cannot just leave or disrespect workers with that service provision disappearing and that capacity lost to the system. That is not acceptable. We need to be much tougher and more direct with them. We should leverage everything we can to get a much more satisfactory outcome.

I asked a specific question about a change that has been made to the protocol and the Taoiseach mumbled something under his breath. There is now an aide-de-camp for the Tánaiste. Who requested that? How much is it projected to cost?

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