Donegal Deputy Thomas Pringle declared support for Donegal nurses and midwives on strike today during Dáil Statements.
The Independent TD for Donegal criticised the government’s response to the INMO’s industrial action and the recruitment and retention issues in the health service.
Deputy Pringle commented: “Any call for fair pay and conditions, a safe working place and for patient safety should not fall on deaf ears. Unfortunately with Fine Gael, that is the case.
“I believe that a resolution can be found in existing industrial relations processes, however Fine Gael refuses to engage in this manner. That’s because Fine Gael do not care about workers’ pay and conditions in this country.
“In fact they have actively undermined workers’ rights since they have been in Government and in many cases have either refused to meet, negotiate or even recognise certain trade unions including NASRA representing ambulance crew.”
Donegal TD Thomas Pringle standing alongside nurses outside Leinster House today
Deputy Pringle met with nurses and midwives outside Leinster House to offer support for their continuing strike today and into the future.
He said: “Public support for their call is overwhelmingly positive because we know too well the huge role nurses play in Letterkenny University Hospital and in community hospitals across Donegal and how they deliver vital services despite the deteriorating conditions they are forced to work in.”
Deputy Pringle also raised a question with the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Health today, asking why they agree only now that the recruitment and retention crisis must be thoroughly investigated when it has been at crisis point for years.
He said that the recruitment and retention issue which is plaguing Donegal’s public services is a Government-made issue. Responsibility for the issue should not fall on the nurses and midwives themselves but on Fine Gael’s own shoulders, according to Deputy Pringle.
“It shows Fine Gael’s incompetency and incompatibility with the notion of a fairer more equal society,” Pringle TD said.
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