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

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and I acknowledge the disruption being caused as a result of strike action. It is having an impact and will continue to affect patients. I do not think anybody wants that and the MLSA does not want it either, to be fair, but this is having an impact. There is a very strong desire to get this matter resolved. What has been going on through informal contacts is to get a basis for participation now, following failed attempts in the past number of weeks through the WRC and the public service agreement group. It is about getting the basis right, if you like, for all parties to participate either in the WRC or in the Labour Court, which could be the way forward in getting a resolution to this dispute.

It is a dispute of long standing but in these cases, there are always further implications. The broader consideration of this must be within that context also. In other words, people must be fully aware of all the implications of any particular agreement on a specific matter, particularly in the health service. Anybody involved with the health service knows that to be the case historically. Experience informs us that a deal in one particular location of the health service can have repercussions across the entire service that may not have been envisaged at the outset. The best way to resolve an issue of that kind is to either use the WRC or the Labour Court so the details can be hammered out and ring-fenced to ensure we can get a resolution to this in the best interests of all concerned. That includes medical scientists, patients and the public at large. It is what the Government is endeavouring to do here.

There is no dispute about the need to get this resolved and we have provided funding to expand the numbers working. Currently we have approximately 2,135 whole-time equivalents in the sector and we want to expand that through additional posts. We want to create a framework and basis to have a lasting resolution to this dispute.

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