Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government does not pay anyone. It is the taxpayer who pays and there is only a certain amount of money that comes in in taxation. I have met nurses who have returned from Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA and their biggest complaints about pay and conditions here fall under three headings, one of which is the level of taxation. One can earn up to £50,000 in the United Kingdom before reaching the higher tax rate. In Ireland the figure is €35,500. The second issue they raise is non-recognition of further education, one the Department and the HSE must tackle immediately. It is a key issue to be addressed in the context of allowances and time allowed. The third issue is overtime and hours owing, but it is not being followed through. In other words, it is not about overtime but about being given an allowance for hours owing, something which is not taken into account and about which a lot of nurses are very unhappy. Another issue is the huge deficiency in managerial skills in hospitals. I refer to the management of issues as they arise. One example I have come across in the past week or two involves nurses who have been threatened within emergency departments, with no sufficient action taken to provide adequate security for them. The people who cause these difficulties are attending to receive care or are the individuals who accompany them. They also have a responsibility. If we want people to work in front-line services, we must provide adequate security for them. I criticise management for failing to act appropriately in some areas. While there are issues which must be dealt with, there is also the issue of how it will be paid for. The last thing we need is to see a recurrence of what happened in the years between 2000 and 2008 when there were consistent increases in salaries and wages which meant that when the downturn came, we were unable to manage. If one allows this problem to fester, it will spread across the entire public sector. It is something that needs to be dealt with.