Tá an stailc atá tógtha ag na heolaithe leighis, agus na himpleachtaí ar na seirbhísí sláinte dá bharr, ag tarlú mar gheall nár dhéileáil an Rialtas leis na fadhbanna ag croílár an aighnis. Tá cothromaíocht i gcúrsaí pá, deiseanna traenála agus coinníollacha oibre fíorthábhachtach do sheirbhísí sláinte nua-aimseartha. Níl aon oibrí ag iarraidh a bheith amuigh ar stailc. Is an rogha dheireanach atá ann. Medical scientists are on the picket lines today, and will be again tomorrow, fighting for fair pay and decent career and progression opportunities. We are seeing significant and widespread disruption to the health service, with up to 30,000 medical procedures and appointments being cancelled. That follows on from the 14,000 appointments that were cancelled last week.
This dispute has been left to fester by successive governments for more than 20 years. The issues at the centre of this strike did not fall out of the sky. Medical scientists are paid 8% less than colleagues who perform identical work in hospital laboratories. Laboratory aids who report to medical scientists receive a higher starting salary than the medical scientists do. Medical scientists have fewer education and progression opportunities than comparable colleagues do. These issues have been raised continuously with governments for more than two decades by medical scientists and their representatives but nothing has been done. Unfair pay and a failure to address poor conditions have led to a chronic retention and recruitment crisis in the profession. We see that 20% of approved hospital posts are currently unfilled and the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association, MLSA, states that the Department of Health and the HSE are ignoring burnout in the sector.
Let the Taoiseach make no mistake about it - medical scientists are on strike today because of a basic lack of respect and recognition of the crucial role they play in delivery of health services. They are among the unsung heroes of this pandemic. Medical scientists essentially designed our Covid-19 testing system from scratch. They suspended industrial action for more than two years. They put aside their grievances for the good of the people and their contribution in the fight against the virus was invaluable. Medical scientists stood up and went beyond the call of duty. Now the Taoiseach's Government has left them standing on the picket line for a second week.
The MLSA says that since the first strike action last Wednesday neither the Department of Health nor the HSE has come to it with a meaningful proposal or an invitation to talks that could resolve the issues. That is incredible. Medical scientists deserve far better than that. The tens of thousands of patients whose medical appointments have been cancelled deserve much better. What we need is a fresh set of urgent talks. We need talks urgently with the aim of getting a resolution. Crucially, these talks must involve the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, which puts the money on the table at the end of the day. It has to be at the table. Last week the Taoiseach said that he recognised the hugely important work done by medical scientists. He also urged them to engage with the industrial relations mechanisms. That is exactly what they are doing, but there is still no resolution to this issue. It comes down to this: does the Taoiseach accept that medical scientists have a legitimate and fair claim? If so, will he now intervene with the Department of Health, the HSE and, crucially, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in order that together they may bring a meaningful proposal to the MLSA to resolve this dispute and ensure it does not go into a third week?