To ask the Minister of Health for his assessment of how low morale amongst health and social care staff, due to pay and conditions lagging behind those of neighbouring jurisdictions, will impact on the delivery of health services.

Staff are the backbone of health and social care services and deserve to be properly rewarded for their work. They have rightly voiced their displeasure over the last financial year at the delay in processing an appropriate pay award due to the lack of political institutions. The return of the Executive and allocation of resources to my Department has enabled me to take immediate action to address this issue. Our HSC staff are to be highly commended for their continued commitment to serving our population despite the challenging circumstances they face.