Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank an Teachta Ó Murchú for sharing his time with me.

I am extremely concerned about all our section 39 and section 56 workers, such as all those working in the Irish Wheelchair Association in north Kildare and Dara Community Living in north Kildare. I welcome the disability federation, the federation of voluntary service providers, and the service users, or, as I like to call them, the citizens of the State, to the Gallery here today.

I would like to give a special welcome to Ms Carol O'Donnell, who is the CEO of Dara Community Living, to the Gallery. Dara Community Living provides the opportunity for people with intellectual disabilities to live in the community. It also provides respite to families with family members with intellectual disabilities. Dara is a place I know well. We value it very highly in our constituency and in our community. I worked there and I know what the workers do, day in, day out. I would like to give a shoutout to the section 39 workers: Mr. Liam Carthy, whom I met there just last week, Ms Michelle Farrelly, Ms Sinéad O'Connor, Ms Fidelma Fitzsimons, and Ms Lorraine and Katie O'Dwyer, to mention just a few. They are people I worked closely with.

There are many others working there and they are an absolute treasure to us in north Kildare. The good work they do is untold. They represent such good. I want to pay special tribute to them in the Dáil today and give them a shout out because it is the least they deserve.

They were there on the front line during Covid when the rest of us were able to work from home and we did not know what we were facing. It is critical that they now have their work recognised in good pay and conditions. Section 39 workers like those in Dara show up for work every day. They are the workers people like our citizens in the Gallery rely on to live their best lives. They make a profound difference to people’s lives every day. There are few enough of us who can say that about the work we do but that is true of the section 39 workers. They give people dignity to live their best lives in the community. They do not want to go on strike. I am extremely anxious that they be valued by actions and not just words and that their pay be protected, given the huge difference they make to people’s lives every day. The Minister of State got a taste of that when she came to the official reopening of the new premises in Main Street in Celbridge. I listened to the start of her speech from my office. There is no point in giving a speech like that because she is in government. This threatened strike is now at her door. An Teachta Paul Donnelly said earlier that he thought he was living in a parallel universe when he was listening to the speakers. I have noticed there are a lot of Fianna Fáil speakers here today. I hope that the Minister of State does have something up her sleeve. I think it is disingenuous to make the best of our workers wait. It is at her door and she must act.

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