Today, as other Members have stated, members of the National Ambulance Service find themselves on the picket line. I visited a number of them this morning in County Monaghan before I travelled to Leinster House. The one thing they all had in common was that none of them wanted to be there. As much as that is for sure. They wanted to do what they do very well; look after the communities in which they serve.

Their big gripe, as they explained to me this morning, is that their service has changed completely from what was once upon a time a patient transfer service to now giving very sophisticated medical attention to patients on-site. That professionalism, which has been recognised across the National Ambulance Service, has resulted in greater patient outcomes, and that is for sure. As part of the journey they were on, an independent report was carried out to see exactly what pay increases were due to the members of the service because of the changes in professionalism they had adopted. That report, which was released back in 2022, recommended that pay increases, among other things, be given to the NAS.

Apparently, that has never happened. I understand agreement was reached by union heads but it was balloted to the members and that was rejected. Apparently, it has been in abeyance since. When members tried to bring the matter up again to get what they feel they are entitled to, there were preconditions being entered into that they feel are unfair. All of these disputes ultimately are resolved and I call on the HSE to re-engage with the National Ambulance Service with a view to finding a resolution to this problem. The next day of action is not until 19 May so there is a window. I ask all sides to re-engage to find a solution to this outstanding issue.

I would like to be associated with the calls of my colleagues about the National Ambulance Service. As we know, I am always very vocal in here about that. I thank my colleagues for taking it up and I thank my colleague for taking up International Nurse Day. My late mother-in-law was a nurse for many years and so is my wife.

Today, I want to talk about a very serious issue of the availability of givinostat for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD. I know colleagues have raised it here on numerous occasions. DMD is a serious, lifelong condition for children and their families.

I have continued to raise this since I was appointed to the Seanad. Families deserve answers and action on this. I raised it at an Oireachtas health committee meeting in October and we were told it was hoped it would be sorted by the end of the year or the beginning of 2026. We are now nearly halfway through 2026 and families are still waiting.

I especially mention my local boy in Donegal and his family, who along with other families across Ireland, are living with DMD every day. These families are not asking for a miracle; they are asking for urgency, fairness and access to a treatment that has been approved in Europe. The drug company is not engaging with the HSE. We need to put pressure on to get it to engage. Families need clarity on this and we need progress. Children with DMD cannot afford endless delays. Time is muscle and that is the important thing. I will continue to raise this issue and fight for these children and their families.

Before I sit down, I thank my colleagues across the House. Every party has raised this issue in the past year and a half since I was appointed. It has nothing to do with politics. We need to get this issue sorted out for the children of Ireland. Time is crucial for this so I ask that we put pressure on the drug company to engage.

This morning, I met staff of the National Ambulance Service who are on strike on the picket line in Cavan. The first thing they said to me was that they do not want to be there, they want to be out doing their jobs and it should never have got to this stage. They are looking for the recognition of the upskilling they have undertaken in the past 15 years. One woman who was there told me she has been working for the NAS for 30 years and when she began working there, her job was to transport a patient safely from one location to a hospital setting. She said basically what she had to do was drive faster if the person was more seriously injured or more sick than someone else. She needed to get them there. Now, the NAS provides medical intervention en route to the hospital and has saved the lives umpteen times of people who have had heart attacks or are on the verge of strokes. They are able to make interventions that save those people's lives until they get them to the hospital they are going to, so they deserve proper pay and conditions.

The Minister for Health needs to get back to the negotiating table to talk to the unions representing these workers. A number of colleagues brought this up this morning. They belong to Government parties. Some of them are in the same party as the Minister. They should talk to her and tell her to get back to the table. This is much too serious to be left on the picket line.

Concerns were expressed by a number of those striking about the director of the NAS, Robert Morton. There seems to be a pattern. He managed an ambulance service in Australia that was involved in a dispute as well and another in Britain after that. He has a history of industrial disputes about conditions. The staff feel that the management system in the HSE has failed to address the chronic understaffing, pay and morale issues. Management now even wants to cut the pay staff get for overtime. Many of them do a 12-hour shift that seldom finishes after 12 hours. They often end up doing two, three and sometimes four or five hours more. We need a lot of investment in the ambulance service but we first need to solve the dispute that has brought these people to the picket line where they do not want to be. They want to get on with their work.