Mr. Ed Murphy:

There are two aspects to the public sector. There are section 39 funded companies which are funded 100% by the HSE and there is direct public sector provision. Section 39 funded companies provide hourly rates in the same €10 to €14 range. It may be a euro an hour more. HSE employees are paid in the region of €13.95 to €14.50 an hour. The Deputy may know precisely and can correct me if I am wrong. Public service workers are paid a little more. A recent trend, as our company has found, involves workers who have left the public sector and come to work for us on lower rates. What is different is that we provide them with FETAC level 5 training, support and supervision and help to turn their job into a career. We give them more hours per shift. Home help tends to be provided over a number of hours, but we tend to provide longer shifts. Workers tend to come to us for the quality of the job.