I want to ask the Taoiseach about Friday, when the country's first ever national 24-hour ambulance strike is due to take place. Originally, the strike was due to last ten hours but it will now be for 24. What contingency plans are in place? Thus far, the HSE legal team has been dealing with the legal team of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA, strikers, and has not been engaging directly with the strikers. Is the Taoiseach going to ask the Minister to step in or is this a deliberate tactic to undermine the union? Is the Government willing to endanger lives rather than deal with the strikers face to face in order to put a contingency plan in place?

The HSE has not responded to three invitations from the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, to have discussions about this dispute. It seems the Government would prefer to see about €250,000 paid to a legal team to engage indirectly. On the Taoiseach's head be it that the first ever strike of this nature is going to proceed and that there has been no direct engagement with the workers involved to put contingency plans in place.

This is an industrial relations matter. The Deputy knows how industrial relations work in the State. There is no direct Government involvement.

Of course there is.

Pull the other one.

It is managed through management, the WRC and the Labour Court. My understanding is that this is largely an inter-union dispute and that one union is going on strike while the other three are not. I am confident that the HSE will put in place the necessary contingency plans.

The HSE engaged with the nurses.