Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I did yesterday, I again take the opportunity to recognise the hugely important and vital work carried out by medical scientists, as well as their role in respect of the functioning of our health service. They are dedicated, professional and highly committed and have been so for many years. This was particularly the case during the pandemic.

There is a long-standing concern. The Medical Laboratory Scientists Association has had an ongoing long-term concern in relation to pay and career structure of the medical scientist grade. They want pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. The health sector management has been engaging with the MLSA regarding these issues under the existing public service agreement.

As I said, the public service agreement group, which is comprised of union and Civil Service representatives and which has an independent chair, met on 11 May to consider the matter. They recommended that the matter be immediately referred to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and that industrial peace be maintained in the meantime. There was engagement between the parties yesterday at the WRC. I believe the parties should continue at the WRC. Ultimately, industrial disputes of this kind have to be resolved through the existing labour and industrial relations mechanisms. That is the most effective way to do this, because there are implications and there are always consequences and relativities. These issues are never simple or straightforward in industrial relations terms, particularly within the health service. This potentially has further, wider repercussions.

All those issues have to be teased through and worked through. The most important forum in which to do that is the WRC or whatever forum within the industrial relations machinery is optimal for the resolution of this particular dispute. I hope that while talks are continuing, the strike action could be lifted because such action will and does impact on patients. Of that there is no doubt, given the central and very important role medical scientists perform in our health service.

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