Nurses did not wish to be on strike

NO nurse or midwife wanted to be out on the recent strike, Fianna Fáil’s Health Spokesperson Stephen Donnelly told the Dáil. They wanted to be on the job doing what they know how to do best and what they are trained very well to do.

However, he said a combination of issues, including pay discrepancies, staffing levels, working conditions and patient safety concerns, left them in a position where they felt they had no choice. ‘ They have been raising those concerns since 2013,’ he said. ‘ They raised them directly at their national conference in Cork last year. They raised them through 2018 but they were not listened to or treated with respect. Their concerns were not acted on and so it took a national strike, the second such national strike in the 100-year history of the INMO to get the Government’s attention. Members of the PNA found themselves in the same position. It is welcome that they have also suspended industrial action following the Labour Court’s recommendation.’

Fianna Fáil, he said, welcomes proposals for enhanced practice in nursing and midwifery with the development of a new enhanced nurse practice salary scale. ‘We welcome the guaranteed multi-annual funding to maintain safe staffing levels - it is critical that this happens; the increased education and training opportunities it is hoped to see; the expert review recommendation of the nursing profession to be undertaken in the medium term; and the addressing of other issues of concern to the union side as part of the resolution to this dispute.’