Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State has said that health management has engaged with the association. I am not sure it has engaged in a meaningful way because the offer of 1% is neither here nor there nor going to the creamery. I have spoken to a scientist who feels that the training of new graduates is soul-destroying because she does her best to bring them up to speed, but when most graduates are exposed to the full workload, they choose not to work in the public system and are lost to private industry. As the pharmaceutical industry is booming at the moment, it has the resources to offer better pay and conditions. That is all the more reason for the medical scientist issue to be ironed out as soon as possible. As part of the graduate work, those who choose to work as laboratory aids are not required to be qualified. When they see that they will receive a pay cut, they are scared off to a large extent. Even though one of the people to whom I spoke is close to retirement, she now works more hours than she has ever done. That is a significant problem because there are staff shortages in the laboratory. There is no immediate prospect of any of those vacancies being filled, which is no wonder because all of the graduates are choosing not to enter the public system. That situation is in addition to what has happened over the last few years.

The Minister of State has paid tribute to the work that medical scientists carried out during Covid and the cyberattack. I accept that they have received a bonus payment. Let us not go down that road again because there are people working side by side and some of them are not getting it either. Something must be done about this issue. One cannot be looking over one's shoulder. The current situation is clearly inexcusable, unjustifiable and unequal. Again, the representative body has decided to enter exploratory talks. I hope meaningful negotiations can take place during those talks.

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