Mac Sharry hits out at Varadkar

FIANNA Fáil TD Marc Mac Sharry has hit out at Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the Government for their failure to engage with nursing unions ahead of last Wednesday’s strike which saw hundreds of INMO members in Sligo join the picket.

“It is a matter of fact that nurses are unfairly discriminated against in terms of pay and conditions compared to similar allied health professionals,” Mac Sharry said.

“It is disingenuous in the extreme for the Taoiseach to tell the Dail today that the ‘damage is already done’ and that ‘more than 1000 elective surgeries and other appointments have already had to be cancelled’ when the reality is this matter could and should have been addressed weeks ago.

“Nurses are fully aware that full equality on pay and conditions cannot be provided overnight however Governments failure to meaningfully engage and lay out a creditable pathway to achieve this is an insult to our hard working nurses.

“It is therefore imperative that the Taoiseach abandon his passive commentator role in this matter and immediately engage with nurse Unions to find a workable solution to Nurses justifiable grievances. They deserve no less.”