asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that the nurses and domestic staffs of Brownswood Sanatorium are working very long hours, and that in view of the nature of the work it is considered that these employees are entitled to a 48-hour week; and, if so, if he will make arrangements whereby the 48-hour week will be brought into operation in this institution.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Brownswood (County Wexford) Sanatorium.
I am not aware that the nurses and domestic staffs of Grianán Charmain (Brownswood) are working very long hours. The question of the numbers of nursing and domestic staffs to be employed in any local authority institution is, in the first instance, a matter for consideration and determination by the local authority.
I brought this before the county manager at a county council meeting and the information I got was that he would look into the matter. Now these are only young girls——
If the Deputy has a question to ask he should ask it and not make a speech.
On this question, the present Minister told me some months ago that all our local authorities were supposed to give a 48-hour week, and here we have domestics in a sanatorium working longer hours.
The Deputy is again making a speech.
This matter, I would like to assure the Deputy, has been under consideration for a long time. My predecessor, in 1949, tried to get the local authorities to adopt the scheme and tried to get the Minister for Finance to agree to it because there would be a certain amount of extra expense to the local authorities and we would have to pay half. The Minister for Finance would not agree, and it went to the Government. The Government agreed in March, 1950, that our local authorities should have a 95-120 hour fortnight provided, they said further, any extra cost would be met by a saving on the Estimate. They said further that it would be inexpedient to convey this decision to the local authorities.
You should give them trade union hours.
Maybe I will do something better than the last Government anyway.