Gerald Nash (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak in solidarity with the INMO nurses who are on strike. I visited the picket lines in Dundalk and Drogheda this morning. To say that the determination of the nurses is very strong is not to put too fine a point on it. Those of us who have been involved in industrial action and the industrial relations process know that it is a big decision for any worker to withdraw his or her labour. There are implications, for example, lost income. For nurses in particular, who take their jobs and roles so seriously, it is a major decision to take.

Unfortunately, the nurses in the INMO felt that they had no option other than to take action. They are involved in a legitimate trade dispute that unfortunately shows no sign of ending. However, I firmly believe that a way can be found within the parameters of the current public sector pay agreement to reach a negotiated settlement that would benefit the nurses without significantly impacting the integrity of the overall public sector pay agreement.

We should not be in this position today, but a lack of imagination and lateral thinking has been shown by the Government side in its handling of the issue. It pains me to say it, but in the context of this and a range of other disputes, the Government has shown a tin ear in its approach to industrial relations. This issue can be fixed if the political will is there, but I do not detect that will. A way can be found through the current pay agreement to address the nurses' concerns while retaining the integrity of that agreement if imagination and lateral thinking are shown by the Government side.

As if we needed reminding, the events in Westminster last night reminded us of the existential importance of the retention of the backstop in the British withdrawal agreement from Europe. In pandering to the extreme elements of the Tory Party's European Research Group, Prime Minister May has shown a willingness to throw Ireland under the proverbial bus. I stood in solidarity with my constituents in Carrickarnon on the Northern Ireland - Republic of Ireland Border last Saturday. The message there was clear - communities on both sides of the Border, be they nationalist or unionist, did not want a hard Brexit or a hard border on this island. We spoke about solidarity with the nurses, but never before has the solidarity of the EU been more important for Ireland than in the backstop's retention.

On Friday I will meet my colleague, the German Federal Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection, and an SPD member, Dr. Katarina Barley, who has requested to come to Ireland to discuss Brexit and the reality of life on the Border with residents from north Louth. I look forward to welcoming her. It is important that we use all of the channels, connections and networks available to us - Fine Gael is associated with the Christian democrat group and the Labour Party is associated with the socialist group, the second largest political grouping in the European Parliament - to convince our European partners of the fundamental importance of retaining the backstop in protecting Ireland's interests North and South and the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement.