Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I realise the Minister of State did not write the reply. I know it is a scripted response from a civil servant. It is highly cynical. The HSE accepts the job evaluation exercise but does not accept that it has to implement it. That is the height of hypocrisy from the civil servant who wrote that line.

I want to finish by saying one thing. The Government will not avoid industrial action unless there is a political intervention. The industrial relations process has been completed and the awards were made. The HSE applied for the money and was turned down by the Government. What we need is political action. Without it, the Government is heading into a public relations disaster. If the Minister of State thinks the nurses dispute was bad for his Government, he should wait until this kicks off because there are far greater numbers of support staff. They are going on strike. They are absolutely furious. We are talking about the lowest-paid workers in the health service. The attitude of the Government is absolutely appalling. The message is ringing out clearly now that those in the Government have no idea how these people live, struggle and work against all the obstacles in the health service in the midst of the crises there every day. People are furious. This will not be solved by the industrial relations machinery. It will be solved by a political decision by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to fund the increases awarded under the public service stability agreement and the associated process. The Minister of State must honour the agreement.