11/05/2026
STAND WITH OUR PARAMEDICS 🚑THEY WATCH OUT FOR US. NOW IT’S OUR TURN.⚡
Water Service Workers Ireland would like to show our solidarity with the National Ambulance Service workers taking industrial action tomorrow. This did not happen overnight. These frontline workers have been pushed to the point where they feel they have no other option left after years of being ignored by the HSE Ireland and Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill
This dispute goes back to an independent 2020 Roles and Responsibilities Review which recognised that paramedics, advanced paramedics, EMTs and ambulance supervisors have taken on vastly expanded clinical responsibilities over the last 20 years. Ambulance crews today administer more medications, carry out more advanced lifesaving interventions and operate in a far more demanding environment than ever before. Yet many workers say the recommendations on pay and recognition from that report have still not been properly implemented six years later.
Around 2,000 ambulance personnel voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action after years of frustration, burnout, staffing shortages and increasing pressure across the service. The action begins with work-to-rule measures and escalates into strike action this week.
The HSE itself has warned that ambulance services will be “significantly impacted” during the action, with delays expected for non-life-threatening calls. That should alarm everyone. Nobody on the frontline wants industrial action in an emergency service, but workers have repeatedly said they were left with no choice after years of delays, disputes and broken promises.
This is not just about pay this is about the future of emergency care in Ireland.
When ambulance crews are overstretched, burnt out and leaving the service, it is the public who ultimately pay the price. Delays in emergency response can potentially put lives at risk.
Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the HSE cannot continue standing on the sidelines while this crisis deepens. Frontline ambulance workers carried this country through some of its toughest years and deserve more than endless talks and political soundbites. They deserve action, proper staffing, proper recognition and a service that is safe for both workers and patients.