Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. We all know and appreciate the great work the ambulance service does on behalf of all of us, sometimes in very trying and difficult circumstances. It is disappointing that 500 ambulance service personnel who belong to the National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA, branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association, PNA, are currently in industrial dispute with the Health Service Executive, HSE. Last week saw two days of strike action where the stations were picketed. The trade union is looking for something quite simple, on the face of it. All it seeks is the right for workers to join a union of their choice. rather than have one imposed upon them by the HSE. The HSE's position is difficult to understand as it has recognised the Psychiatric Nurses Association as a licensed trade union since 2010. However, it has now decided no longer to do so. This is one of the reasons for the dispute. Mr. Peter Hughes of the PNA has written to the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, asking him to personally intervene. The PNA has been in contact with the HSE on a number of occasions but the HSE has refused to engage with the Workplace Relations Commission. I wait to hear from the Minister of State whether the Minister will personally intervene in this case so that the dispute can be resolved. It does not appear to be a serious dispute which would be difficult to resolve. I implore the Minister to intervene.

The other issue relates to ambulance personnel on duty, particularly in the north-east region. Last week, for example, in the nine ambulance stations across the north east, 22 staff were rostered for duty. Unfortunately, only 12 staff, in most cases on a single basis, were rostered on. That meant that in Castleblayney, for example, where there should have been two staff on duty for an ambulance, only one was rostered. One person alone cannot take out an ambulance with the exception of cases of cardiac arrest. However, for all other call-outs, they cannot move alone. This is a serious problem. People in County Monaghan have experienced cases where ambulance response times had devastating consequences for the families involved. People fear that the chronic shortage of ambulance personnel means that a serious accident would see such a delay that it would have serious consequences for those involved. Part of the problem is the introduction of a new system of rostering by the HSE. The six new staff members that were promised to fill the gaps have not materialised and this has caused great angst among the general public. When the hospital was removed off call, County Monaghan was promised a top class ambulance service as a means of replacing the lost services. Unfortunately that has not proved to be the case. Based on the statistics I read this morning, Monaghan has a serious problem with ambulance cover. I hope the Minister of State will give some solace to the people of Monaghan and the north east generally that this problem will be alleviated sooner rather than later.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Gallagher for the opportunity to address this matter today. Industrial action was taken last Thursday, 28 February, and Friday, 1 March, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. by a branch of the Psychiatric Nurses Association called the National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA. The HSE has not being advised of any further days of action.

By way of background, NASRA represents approximately 350 front-line ambulance personnel out of a total National Ambulance Service workforce of 1,800. I understand that most are mainly based in Cork, the south east and Tullamore. The HSE and the National Ambulance Service have confirmed that robust contingency planning was again in place last week to ensure there was no risk to the health and safety of health service users despite this escalation in action. This escalation by the union to two consecutive days of industrial dispute was an increased challenge. The HSE has confirmed that full emergency cover was provided during the action. This means that all emergency calls were responded to. The Department of Defence made crewed ambulances available and a number of these were deployed. National Ambulance Service management closely monitored service demand and delivery on the days of the industrial action. The service has confirmed that there was no negative impact on the ability of the service to provide patient care and service delivery. It is important to restate the factual position in respect of this dispute. NASRA, which is affiliated with the PNA, is a group which is not recognised by the HSE and which, therefore, does not have negotiating rights. In addition, the PNA does not have negotiating rights for ambulance personnel. The legal position is very clear. The HSE and the National Ambulance Service have no obligation to recognise NASRA or the PNA in the context of ambulance personnel. The PNA, which is a not affiliated to ICTU, does have negotiating rights for nurses working in psychiatry and intellectual disability sectors. The main union that is recognised by the HSE for ambulance front-line grades is SIPTU. Fórsa and Unite also represent ambulance grades. The HSE deducts subscriptions at source for those ambulance staff who are members of SIPTU, Fórsa and Unite. This is consistent with the fact that these are the unions that are recognised as representing ambulance grades. The HSE does not carry out deductions for subscriptions to NASRA because it is not recognised.

It should be noted that facilitating deductions at source is not a legal right; rather, it is a concession granted to recognised unions. Of course, individuals have a right to membership of any trade union. They do not, however, have a right that such membership is facilitated or recognised by their employer. The Minister stated in the Dáil on 13 February that he would ask his officials to engage with HSE management to explore ways forward and to see if a resolution to this dispute can be progressed. These discussions are still ongoing. Any recognition of the PNA in respect of ambulance personnel could have a serious and detrimental effect on the current state of industrial relations in the health sector. This is a complicated situation which must be managed very delicately.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I note the comment to the effect that "The Minister stated in the Dáil on 13 February that he would ask his officials to engage." I understand that this has not happened yet. Perhaps the Minister of State might chase that up for me today in order to ensure that it does happen.

The other issue is ambulance cover in the north east generally and the lack of manpower there. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could perhaps assist in organising a meeting with the ambulance personnel responsible for that area in order that we might give some comfort to the people of the north east, particularly County Monaghan, that there is adequate and sufficient ambulance cover there to cater for all needs and eventualities.

Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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I will be happy to pass on both of the Senator's requests to the Minister.