I am going to be the third Member to raise issues with the National Ambulance Service this morning-----

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-----which should give the Tánaiste a sense of the scale of the crisis there. For the first time, newly qualified paramedics are not being offered permanent contracts. Instead, this cohort of graduates are only being offered short contract extensions and the opportunity to reapply and compete for their own jobs. Up until now, paramedics who successfully completed the training programme transitioned directly into permanent contracts. In December, this cohort of graduates was given the same assurance that permanent contracts would be offered to them once they got their results from University College Cork, UCC, but this promise has been broken. Last week, just after receiving their exam results, they found out they would have to compete for their current positions and that this would affect not just the current paramedics but also those who are currently in training. All graduates and trainees had a legitimate expectation that they would be offered permanent contracts. Why has the rug been pulled from under them? At a time when the National Ambulance Service is understaffed and staff morale is so low, this is an act of self-sabotage. Many of these graduates have made major financial commitments including mortgages, rents and childcare, all based on the expectation they would be given permanent jobs in their current location, not in another region across the country. Will the Tánaiste do more than talk to the Minister? Will the Government step in here and ensure this decision is reversed?

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