Vol. 469 No. 2
31 Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn asked the Minister for Health the progress, if any, which has been made to date on the nurses pay dispute; the proposals, if any, he has offered to resolve the dispute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16932/96]
Limerick East): On 15 May of this year the Government and ICTU issued a joint statement in which they outlined their commitment to meet, in partnership, the substantial changes in the public service and to achieve the necessary restructuring in a positive and constructive way.
This statement arose from a series of discussions which were held in the light of the failure of a number of groups in the public service to reach agreement on restructuring under clause 2 (iii) (a) of the Public Service Agreement on Pay, incorporated in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. The statement also outlined the development of a framework aimed at achieving the continuation and successful completion of a number of outstanding sets of discussions. I immediately met with the nursing unions to ask them to consider their position in relation to the proposed new framework with a view to resolving the concerns of nurses in a positive way.
Arising from that meeting a further series of discussions took place with the nursing unions. As provided for within the framework, the parties agreed to refer the outstanding issues to adjudication. Both sides entered this adjudication process on the understanding that it represented the final stage of processing of the nurses' claim. Submissions were made to the Adjudication Board on 22 July 1996. The findings by the Adjudication Board on these issues were issued to management and unions on Monday, 23 September.
