Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Thank you.

I thank Deputy Duncan Smith for raising this issue. We had a good debate on this yesterday. I want to acknowledge the incredibly valuable role that medical scientists play in our healthcare system but on top of that, the fact that they, along with their healthcare colleagues across the system, have put in even longer hours and tougher shifts during the pandemic. I have met a lot of them and am fully aware of the personal and professional cost of this. It has meant very long hours working in even more stressful conditions. It has also meant time away from family and friends and I want to acknowledge that they stepped up, along with the rest of the healthcare community, during Covid.

I also want to acknowledge the long-standing claim for pay parity between medical scientists and clinical biochemists. The current public service pay agreement, Building Momentum, includes sectoral bargaining to address outstanding claims such as this one. This is the method through which claims can be addressed within the lifetime of the agreement. Health management have been engaging with the MLSA for many months to find a way to advance their claim through sectoral bargaining but no resolution to the matter has been reached so far. However, I was very happy to see that the industrial action has been suspended and did not take place yesterday. There was a very constructive engagement at the Labour Court yesterday, with all sides in attendance. It has been agreed that all sides will now convene at the WRC for a three-week period. Hopefully all issues can be dealt with in the WRC but if not, the sides have agreed that any outstanding issues at the end of the three-week period will be reverted back to the Labour Court.

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