Solidarity People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett raised the issue of the government relying on agency contracts to hire nurses and extra healthcare staff for the health service in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputies Bríd Smith and Paul Murphy will later today question the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys on the very urgent need for the government to expand the remit of the HSA so that it can inspect workplaces for Covid-19 required health and safety measures.
Richard Boyd Barrett TD said: “There have been very serious issues raised with me about the practices and contractual arrangements for healthcare staff who are being recruited by the company CPL.
“Workers have raised directly with me that they, will not be directly employed by the HSE; they will have no sick leave entitlements; and no permanency of employment despite the fact that we cannot return to an under-resourced, fractured and dysfunctional two-tier health system following the Covid-19 crisis.
“The use of CPL calls into question the way the government is recruiting much needed staff for our health service. Before the pandemic we were already short of staff across the health service. It is a fine thank you to all the healthcare workers who have volunteered to give them the worst possible contracts.”
Bríd Smith TD will say: “I will be calling on Minister Humphreys to expand the remit of the HSA which can be done by ministerial order so that they can go into workplaces and inspect them to see if the Covid-19 guidelines have been adhered to.
“Workers need to know that they can contact a state agency and that that agency will act to send inspectors into workplaces to make sure that the restrictions are being adhered to. Frontline workers are doing this country a tremendous service and they are putting their health on the line. The HSA must be given power to go into workplaces so that these workers can be given the proper protections when they are working.”
Paul Murphy TD will say: “I have been passed from Billy to Jack in trying to get someone to inspect Keelings to ensure their workers are safe. The HSA has said that they have no powers in overseeing the Covid-19 guidelines, although Minister Humphreys said in a reply to me that she’s talking to her officials about it. The Minister for Finance explicitly said that it is the HSE which oversees them. However, now the HSE has said it is not their role.
“I have written to Minister Humphreys to urge the government to urgently address this by extending the powers of the HSA, so Keelings workers and others can be protected.”
The TDs also said that they were very pleased that their proposal to have the Dáil lit red tonight from 6pm on 1 May had been accepted as a tribute to the frontline workers who are doing such wonderful work during this crisis. The lighting of the Dáil in red will go along with similar lighting of council buildings across the country including Dublin City, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, South Dublin, Sligo, Belfast and Derry amongst others as proposed by People Before Profit councillors across the country.
