Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-12
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I must say that is a very dishonest portrayal and presentation of the situation. In her heart of hearts, Deputy McDonald must know that. It is very dishonest and a distortion of what has actually happened. Surely she realises that the HSE has been engaged with the trade unions on this issue for quite some time. By the way, for well over two decades now, the State has invested very significantly in the modernisation and transformation of our National Ambulance Service, pre-emergency hospital care and the first responder area. That has been a continuing reality for well over two decades. To be fair to all involved, including those working on the front line, they have participated in that transformation. They sought it. In the early part of the 2000s, I was involved in establishing the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council.
With regard to this current dispute, the State has always accepted that pay structures need to be modernised. Previous engagements at the WRC actually concluded in very significant outcomes. In particular, the State offered pay increases of between 3% and 14%, depending on the grade and so on, linked to reform. That was on top of the 9.25% increase under the current public service pay agreement. Union leadership recommended this proposal to their members. How then can the Deputy say that we refused to resolve the issue, forced them to fight and let this fester for six years?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-12