Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise issues with regard to the emergency or 999 call answering service, with centres in Ballyshannon in Donegal and in my own county of Meath, in Navan, employing approximately 75 people. Workers have told me that they have made numerous attempts to have issued addressed with BT Communications Ireland regarding pay and conditions, union recognition and other serious issues but they are getting nowhere and are not being listened to. I understand that workers have written to the company in the last day or two in a last-ditch attempt to get these issues resolved but the company will not engage with unions. Why did the Government award a contract to a company that will not engage with unions in this State?

In many cases, workers are dealing with calls that are not easy to answer. They are the first point of contact for our national emergency services and answer approximately 500 calls over 12-hour shifts. Workers still hope to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue with BT Communications but failing that, they will be looking at all options available to them. We do not want this country to be in a situation where 999 calls are not being answered. I ask the Government to engage with workers and management to sort this out as a matter of urgency.

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