Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Sinéad Gibney (SD), Dublin Rathdown

Some 100,000 public sector workers begin work to rule today. Next week, they will be joined by their colleagues in the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, and the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. On 14 October, we are facing a public sector strike. The Social Democrats and I stand in solidarity with all of those workers. Those commencing work to rule are nurses, hospital workers, local authority workers - people who are on the front line of public services. They help us when we are sick. They keep our communities clean and safe. They step up and do the vital work for each and every one of us every single day and they do so in services that are frequently underfunded and overstretched. The industrial action taking place today and in the coming weeks is because of this Government's failure to engage in meaningful public sector pay talks and, sadly, this could have been avoided.
It has been a frustrating summer, where unions have been clear that they will not accept talks without the basis that there would be a meaningful offer on pay. When will the Government come to the table to avoid further disruption and strike action, engage in good faith with the unions for a new public sector pay deal and deliver for our public sector workers and all of us who rely on those crucial public services?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30