Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I note that the Minister has left the Chamber. With no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, this happens all the time when my group speaks. She is not interested in what we have to say.

I am interested in the humanity of it. The Government does not respect nurses in general, let alone the student nurses. We saw Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party voting down a motion to pay and recognise the gallant work done by those angels of mercy. We are so fortunate to have those young ladies and gentlemen who go into the profession of nursing. It is a noble profession in Ireland. The Taoiseach has told us about how a new model and system for training nurses has been set up. I wonder if it is any better than when we had matrons. I do not think it is. Nonetheless, this Government does not respect nurses.

The Minister has returned. He is welcome. I withdraw my remark. He is back and I hope he listens to us. He has a habit of leaving when our group speaks, as do the other Ministers. It is yet another insult. If they insult elected Members of Parliament, why would they not insult the nurses? We have seen what has happened with Mr. Watt, the new interim Secretary General of the Department of Health. He has been given a pay rise of €81,000 a year, bringing his salary to almost €300,000. We have seen what has happened with the procurement scandal which has been going on day in, day out, especially during the pandemic. Procurement contracts have been handed out without tendering. Contractors can pay what they like. We have faulty PPE and so much other stuff. We have seen the mess, scandal and black hole that is the children's hospital and that may never rise out of the ashes. The Minister was happy to go along with it, even though he voiced criticism of it when he was in opposition. However, he would not vote against it and support our motions. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have behaved recklessly towards the health service.

Student nurses have been mistreated. It is an unbelievable scandal. A good friend of mine, Niamh, is a student nurse on placement in Sligo. She has gone into every situation in the Covid crisis, as they all have. The have gone to the front line to help out and to work, despite the hours, the pressure, the danger and the risk. As other speakers have said, they have often done this without senior members of staff to help them, because some of them have been on sick leave or have been self-isolating. It is a crisis. We can deal with everything by throwing billions of euro at it, yet we cannot pay the student nurses. I believe in the saying "mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad". Praise the young people and they will come with us and work with us. The Government wants to stamp down on them, persecute them and show its disdain for them.

Mr. Watt has been given a pay rise of €81,000 in the middle of a pandemic, when he does not have such a good record coming from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. One would wonder what he has to offer here. It is nothing personal. There is money to appoint three extra super-junior Ministers. There is money for everything, but not for the student nurses, nurses, or front-line workers in any shape or form. The Minister and the Minister of State should hang their heads in shame. Look what has been done to St. Brigid's Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir. It is on the Minister of State's doorstep. It is shameful.

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