Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not have those cost figures. As the Deputy knows, they are matters for the Departments of Education and Skills and Health, which have engaged in the open consultation process. Following my request, I met employers before we started the formal consultation process - I also met trade unions and other groups - to assess their early views in response to the report's publication. I recall meeting them in early November soon after publication.

When we set about capturing as much quantitative and qualitative information as we could, we made it clear that this phenomenon was not exclusive to the private sector. For example, there are people - young, by and large - in the education sector who are in these arrangements and others in section 38 organisations that are funded by the HSE to provide home help care packages to vulnerable older people, people with disabilities and so on. We wanted to capture people's views. With respect, it is a matter for the Departments of Education and Skills and Health and the HSE to respond in time. However, the process is not yet complete.