Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

There are 2,000 medical scientists in this country. The Medical Laboratory Scientists Association, MLSA, is going on strike on Wednesday, 18 May, Tuesday, 24 May, and Tuesday, 31 May. The reason is that, way back in 2001, there was a report of the expert group on medical laboratory technician and technologist grades that recommended that medical laboratory scientists should be put on pay parity with clinical biochemists. Also, 20% of medical scientist posts in our hospitals are not filled. The MLSA has engaged with the HSE and the Department of Health through the Workplace Relations Commission. It got a ballot for industrial action, which was due to take place in March and early April. It deferred it because it wanted to try to find a resolution. All that has come to naught and it has no choice but to take industrial action.

The Department and the HSE should meet their demands, give them the parity that was recommended back in 2001 and fill those posts. They point out in their briefing on this that all the problems of CervicalCheck, which increased the demands on these laboratories, resulted in them warning way back in 2006 against the decision to outsource screening to American laboratories and that it would cause problems because we did not have the capacity or the ability to retain laboratory scientists. These matters have very serious implications. I urge the Government to meet the demands of the medical laboratory scientists.

See this speech in context