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

First I would ask that there would not be industrial action. We have 28,500 more staff working in the health system now than there were at the beginning of 2020. That is an increase of about 24% in staffing levels within the health service. I acknowledge that population growth has been significant but by any yardstick there has been consistent, huge and increased investment in our health service across the board. That is manifested in thousands more nurses and midwives, more health and social care professionals, more doctors and dentists. There will be a further increase in staff in 2025, in the thousands, in our health service. However, we also have to look and reflect to make sure we are getting value and that we are deploying and utilising all resources to the optimal degree. In the context of exponential growth in expenditure on health, the industrial action cannot be sustained, in my view.

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