Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber. I also thank my colleague, Senator Annie Hoey, for drafting this motion and tabling it this evening. On the Minister's watch, there are workers in the Irish health service going to work in fear, stressed about what is going to happen in the course of their work. It is on his watch that we heard testimonies from healthcare workers about being shoved, grabbed, slapped, and kicked and all of the other testimonies that Senators Hoey and Wall talked about earlier today, as well as those heard at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health a fortnight ago. Day in, day out, our healthcare workers are having to bear the brunt for the failures of the Irish health system.

We all know that violence is never acceptable, no matter what the circumstances. That said, we need to look at why people are venting and physically attacking healthcare workers. There is no doubt about that. We need to consider the waiting lists and the under-resourcing of the Irish health service. We also need to hear clear answers tonight on how the Minister is going to protect health workers in the here and now. The waiting lists are not going to change any time soon under the Minister's watch. The lack of bed capacity is not going to change any time soon and recruitment will not transform overnight. We need to hear clear answers from the Minister tonight as to what steps he is going to take to ensure that our hospitals and other healthcare settings are safer places for healthcare workers.

First, we need to hear what the Minister is going to say to the HSA. There were almost 6,000 assaults in two years but just 69 inspections. When one takes out the Covid inspections, there were only 69 inspections of healthcare settings.Where is the respect for healthcare workers in that? A blind eye is being cast to what is being seen almost as a rite of passage. I was struck by the testimonies that Senator Hoey put together. One of those people said that when they talked about whether to complain, another colleague said it is a rite of passage in the health sector to be abused in the course of your work. That is intolerable and unacceptable.

What is the Minister going to do about the bizarre and unequal treatment of medical and nursing staff when compared to the treatment of allied health professionals and all others who work in hospitals? To be frank, it is a classic case of the "Upstairs, Downstairs" mentality in the Irish health system. Those allied health professionals, porters, receptionists and other workers are vital parts of the Irish health system. We can listen to the tea and sympathy all we want but we need to hear that if they are assaulted, they are going to get the same entitlement as a nurse or doctor. We have to cut out this disrespect, which is what it is, in respect of the different jobs that exist within the Irish health sector. Is the Minister going to implement a staffing plan? The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, has talked for a long time about an overall framework for staffing and recruitment to be published on an annual basis to ensure safe working conditions. We have heard the figures in respect of over-capacity and the lack of safe working conditions. If we do not hear clear answers from the Minister, we will be looking to bring forward legislation which means that where there are breaches, laws will be broken and there must be some kind of comeback or recourse for workers. At the moment, they are toothless. They cannot fight back in places of work that are over capacity and under-resourced.

I have no doubt we will hear more tea and sympathy this evening. We need clear action and a timeframe for it. We welcome that the Government has not sought to amend our motion. We will all walk out of here and think we are great because we are supporting healthcare workers while we reflect on the shocking things that go on in Irish hospitals. Workers watching this evening want to hear more than that. They want to hear a programme for action that will be implemented in the coming weeks.