Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome my Limerick office team and colleagues who are present today. The staff in our offices are important.

How can any hospital function without staff and pay parity? In University Hospital Limerick, UHL, there are seven laboratories that are struggling for laboratory staff. There is a national shortage of medical scientists, so why not ensure remuneration accordingly? In 2020, 130 posts were unfilled. UHL requires medical scientists in seven departments, including biochemistry, microbiology, histology, haematology, the blood bank and the public health lab.

The main reason for the dispute is that biochemists are paid 8% more than medical scientists. Medical scientists have significant responsibilities and are more aware of the significance of the disruptions that a strike causes for their primary focus, namely, the patient. They carry out identical work with the same responsibilities. They have fewer promotional and career development opportunities and less support for training and education. They have a genuine grievance with the fact that other public sector health workers have seen significant pay increases when they have not.

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