Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish TimesNewly qualified paramedics have accused the Health Service Executive (HSE) of reneging on a commitment to offer them all full-time jobs when they qualified. The issue involves 76 National Ambulance Service (NAS) trained paramedics who qualified in January having, they said, received repeated assurances they would be employed on permanent contracts. On Friday, the union representing the majority of the country’s NAS paramedics, claimed the move “confirmed that management’s increasingly unilateral approach to industrial relations”. Sector organiser John McCamley said the offer to those affected of limited fixed-term contracts “with a view to their applying for permanent contracts at some point in the future” was a break with what had previously been “common practice”. “On February 6th, the HSE advised the trade unions of challenges in progressing Year 3 Paramedics to permanent posts under the current processes.

Source: The Irish Times March 02, 2026 15:04 UTC