The Minister for Health has buried her head in the sand and allowed the crisis in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to worsen on her watch, according to Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice.<\/p>\n
Deputy Rice, who is the party\u2019s health spokesperson, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister for Health should have intervened to avert today\u2019s work-to-rule, but instead she has ignored paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), advanced paramedics, specialist paramedics and paramedic supervisors\u2019 longstanding concerns. The Minister must urgently step up and engage with unions ahead of tomorrow\u2019s planned strike action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese workers are burnt out from working in a service that is stretched paper-thin.<\/p>\n
\u201cChanges in the NAS have seen it move away from the traditional model of emergency response and patient transport to a higher level of pre-hospital care and treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile this model is consistent with the principles underpinning Sl\u00e1intecare, these reforms have not been matched with updated salary scales to reflect changes in workers\u2019 responsibilities and workload, nor recognition of their enhanced skills. In addition, proper workforce planning has been noticeably absent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is now six years this month since the Independent Review of Roles and Responsibilities report within the NAS was published. This review was jointly commissioned by the NAS, SIPTU and the HSE in 2018, and yet its recommendations remain unimplemented.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile NAS workers have increased their skill sets and taken on more responsibilities, this has gone unrecognised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost as if the review never happened \u2013 a review which recommended updated salary scales to reflect changes in NAS personnel\u2019s responsibilities and workload.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I asked the Minister for Health about implementing these recommendations last month, instead of answering the question directly, she chose to scapegoat workers and unions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bottom line is this – NAS workers must be remunerated and recognised for the essential and skilled work they do. Seeking fair treatment should not be too much to ask. The work they do is, after all, a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Minister must take ownership of this problem and ensure that the 2020 review is implemented in full, address pay and conditions and publish a proper workforce plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese frontline workers have waited long enough for their skills and expertise to be recognised. The Government cannot ignore them any longer. This dispute must be brought to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n
May 11, 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minister for Health has buried her head in the sand and allowed the crisis in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) to worsen on her watch, according to Social Democrats TD P\u00e1draig Rice. Deputy Rice, who is the party\u2019s health spokesperson, said: \u201cThe Minister for Health should have intervened to avert today\u2019s work-to-rule, but instead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,642,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-padraig-rice","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n