Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming to take this matter. I am somewhat disappointed that no Minister from the Department of Health is here. This issue was raised by my colleague, Senator Devine, on an Order of Business. Indeed, she raised the matter with the Taoiseach when he was in the House last week.

The Minister of State will be aware that in December 2015, the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland, PNAI, and SIPTU's nursing unions reached an agreement with the Department of Health and the HSE to restore full recognition of the 36-week internship from 2011 onwards. It would appear that the Department unilaterally changed this agreement and only sanctioned recognition for those who graduated from this year onwards. This has created the anomalous situation where nurses and midwives who graduated between 2011 and 2015 will earn less than those who graduated before 2011 and, in some cases, less than those who graduated this year.

Apart from being discriminatory, receiving different pay for the same work is profoundly demoralising and will affect already challenging retention rates. I do not need to remind the Minister of State of the outright failure of the bring our nurses home campaign, of the importance of retaining nurses to ensure that the winter beds initiative can be delivered and that the annual overtime agency costs, currently in the region of €22 million, will be reduced. Denying this particular cohort their incremental credit is a false economy. I am aware that following their demonstration on 27 September, the unions met the Minister for Health who agreed that there was a pay anomaly and that he would make representations to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

I have three questions for the Minister of State present. Why and on whose authority was it decided to change the 2015 agreement in the first place? When and how soon will the anomaly be reversed? Will he guarantee that the anomaly will be reversed before budget 2016?

We are all acutely aware of the precarious nature of industrial relations right now. We are sitting on a tinderbox. I have called for the reopening of the Lansdowne Road agreement, as I want everybody in under the umbrella. I believe having everybody in would suit the Government and the overall recovery policy for the country.

The current situation is totally unnecessary and is something that we must guard against. I would appreciate if the Minister of State would answer my three questions.