Our ambulance workers should not have to strike to be heard by the Taoiseach. They should not have to stand on a picket line to fight for fair pay, recognition and basic respect, but that is what they were forced to do yesterday. They were left with no other option because the Government has failed to deliver improved pay for the incredible work, vital skills and life-saving expertise they bring to work every single day. Paramedics were asked to step up and to take on advanced training to modernise the ambulance service, and they did what was asked of them. In typical Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael style, however, the Taoiseach washed his hands of his obligations and left them hanging - not for a week or a month, but for six long years. The Taoiseach's response to the 24-hour stoppage means that we face escalating stoppages next week and the week after. His failure to intervene has real consequences. He says to use the industrial relations mechanisms of the State, but he knows that there is a deadlock and, without intervention, this could take months to resolve.

Yesterday, there was a significant impact on ambulance services, with even longer waiting times. The Taoiseach cannot sit this one out. His inaction risks walking the country into a summer of crisis, with rolling strikes week after week. People do not want that. They are really worried. They want this resolved fast. Paramedics do not want this. They want to be at work saving lives. This is not any regular industrial dispute; this is our ambulance service. It is a service critical to people's well-being, their safety and their health.

I do not know what the Taoiseach sees when he looks at a paramedic, but I know what I see. I see someone who shows up, who is there for you, who has your back in your most vulnerable moments and who gets the job done. Yet, they are denied fair pay. They are taken for granted and disrespected by the Government. That is at the root of this crisis. The Taoiseach needs to recognise that reality, he needs to listen and he needs to be active in fixing this.

Caithfidh an Taoiseach freagracht a ghlacadh agus teacht ar réiteach don ghéarchéim sa tseirbhís otharcharranna. Seo fadhb a chruthaigh an Rialtas. Caithfidh an Taoiseach gníomhú, idirghabháil a dhéanamh chun cúrsaí a réiteach go tapa agus tuilleadh stailceanna a sheachaint. There is a crisis in our ambulance service. The Taoiseach's complete and utter inaction over six years has deepened that crisis. It is unacceptable for him to now look the other way. Standing on the sidelines simply will not cut it. The Taoiseach is supposed to be in charge, so he should take charge. There is a week before the next strike. I urge him not to waste that time. He should act, intervene, step in and help sort this out.

Hear, hear.

First, I have always acknowledged the critical role that those who work in the National Ambulance Service play in our health service. The Deputy said she does not know what I see when I look at a paramedic. I was critically involved at an earlier time, as Minister for Health, in the professionalisation of the first responder service. I have the greatest and highest of respect for the transformation that has occurred. It has been a good transformation. We have modernised the first responder approach in medicine and in health. That is critical in terms of the acute service, but, more importantly, it is critical in terms of patient outcomes and the outcomes of very serious accidents or developments or cardiac arrests or whatever. The first responder is key. The fact that we have professionalised and modernised that is a good thing. We have always acknowledged and the State has always accepted that pay structures need to be modernised. I refer to the previous engagement at the WRC. I said this to the Deputy yesterday. It is very dishonest of her to say that this has been ignored for six years. That is not the case. Negotiations took place. There was engagement at the WRC. It concluded with significant outcomes, in particular, the State offering pay increases of between 3% to 14% linked to reform. This was on top of the 9.25% increase under the current public service agreement. While union leadership did recommend this proposal to their members, it was rejected by staff following a ballot.

Exactly.

That is not ignoring something for six years.

Yes, it is.

How can the Deputy, with any credibility, come into the House and say that this was ignored for six years, when, clearly, there were negotiations and an outcome? There were negotiations between the unions and the HSE. The unions recommended it. The members voted against it. Dialogue is the only route to resolving this. I am of the view that it will get resolved, but it has to be resolved through dialogue. The 24-hour work stoppage concluded this morning. The HSE and the NAS made every effort to minimise the impact on patients, but we do know that there were significant delays in ambulance response times. That did cause distress and upset to those who were depending on the ambulance service.

I also acknowledge the engagement of SIPTU and Unite in contingency planning in advance to assist in reducing the risks to patients. It is recognised and welcome that, on a number of occasions, the National Ambulance Service staff returned to work to support the management of critical cases. I acknowledge that and their desire to ensure patient safety and continuity of emergency care being the overriding priority. The HSE and the Department remain ready and available to re-engage through the WRC or the Labour Court processes. I urge SIPTU and Unite to return to those mechanisms in the interests of patients, staff and the wider public.

An tslí is fearr chun é seo a réiteach ná go mbeadh plé idir an HSE, SIPTU agus Unite chun an scéal seo a réiteach agus an tseirbhís a chur ar ais i bhfeidhm go hiomlán. Admhaím go bhfuil bunathruithe tar éis tarlú maidir leis an tseirbhís. Tá an Rialtas sásta glacadh leis sin agus déileáil leis. Rinneamar é sin cheana féin, agus tá súil agam go mbeimid in ann é a réiteach tríd an WRC agus an Labour Court. I urge all involved to get back to the industrial relations machinery and use the WRC and the Labour Court to get this resolved.

The Taoiseach's response reflects his lack of urgency on this question. He is quite happy to simply take a laissez-faire approach and hope that others will sort this out. He knows that for the past six years, throughout this process of modernisation, ambulance workers have been left understaffed to the point that they have very deep safety concerns. Those concerns are well-grounded. He has left them overworked. So many of them are burned out that there is now an issue around recruitment and retention in that very service. He has also left them underpaid.

Yesterday, those workers were on the picket line. If the Taoiseach maintains the position he has articulated today, we will face next week, the week after and the week after that an escalating crisis in the service. That is not good enough for the workers concerned and it is certainly good enough for the public and the citizens who rely on these workers for a life-saving service.

Thank you, Deputy. The Taoiseach to respond.

I urge the Taoiseach again to stop being a spectator-----

The Taoiseach to respond. Time is up, Deputy.

----- to intervene and assist in a resolution on this matter.

Again, the Deputy is mischaracterising my approach to this. This is a very serious issue. The Deputy knows in her heart of hearts that this has to be resolved through the industrial relations machinery. She knows that. In every single public service dispute that can occur, taoisigh will not be getting involved. In my case, there is a proper way to do this. You cannot have a situation where we ignore completely the informed, sophisticated and experienced people we have in the Labour Court or in the Workplace Relations Commission. That is how these disputes get resolved. The Deputy knows that.

We have also invested very significantly in the ambulance service. Overall funding is up about 41%. That is up €83 million between 2022 and 2025. In three years alone, it went up 41%, to €285 million. Staffing is up - 588 staff.

Jesus, do not. They are completely understaffed.

There has been an investment of €126 million in the ambulance fleet and there is a further investment of €20 million planned-----

So there is not a problem.

-----for 2026.

Thank you, Taoiseach. Your time is up.

There has been substantial investment in our ambulance service and there will be more.