Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-13
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

How can the Deputy, with any credibility, come into the House and say that this was ignored for six years, when, clearly, there were negotiations and an outcome? There were negotiations between the unions and the HSE. The unions recommended it. The members voted against it. Dialogue is the only route to resolving this. I am of the view that it will get resolved, but it has to be resolved through dialogue. The 24-hour work stoppage concluded this morning. The HSE and the NAS made every effort to minimise the impact on patients, but we do know that there were significant delays in ambulance response times. That did cause distress and upset to those who were depending on the ambulance service.
I also acknowledge the engagement of SIPTU and Unite in contingency planning in advance to assist in reducing the risks to patients. It is recognised and welcome that, on a number of occasions, the National Ambulance Service staff returned to work to support the management of critical cases. I acknowledge that and their desire to ensure patient safety and continuity of emergency care being the overriding priority. The HSE and the Department remain ready and available to re-engage through the WRC or the Labour Court processes. I urge SIPTU and Unite to return to those mechanisms in the interests of patients, staff and the wider public.
An tslí is fearr chun é seo a réiteach ná go mbeadh plé idir an HSE, SIPTU agus Unite chun an scéal seo a réiteach agus an tseirbhís a chur ar ais i bhfeidhm go hiomlán. Admhaím go bhfuil bunathruithe tar éis tarlú maidir leis an tseirbhís. Tá an Rialtas sásta glacadh leis sin agus déileáil leis. Rinneamar é sin cheana féin, agus tá súil agam go mbeimid in ann é a réiteach tríd an WRC agus an Labour Court. I urge all involved to get back to the industrial relations machinery and use the WRC and the Labour Court to get this resolved.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-13/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:03+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-13