Mr. Adrian Kane:

I will address the issue raised by the Deputy regarding the role of the WRC. We addressed this committee last year in respect of local employment services. The Department has refused to attend the WRC. I have no doubt that if we ask it to attend the WRC it will refuse to do so. It has used language to state it would assist the WRC. I am not really sure what that means, but it has refused to attend.

We had a Labour Court recommendation with regard to the CE supervisors going back to 2008. We negotiated an agreement only last year. The process took almost 14 years, and the recommendation has not been implemented. The issue that will resolve this will not involve going to the WRC. I would end up having to refer 50 or 60 cases in each individual partnership or local development company. We need direct engagement in a collective bargaining forum that has some weight and treats us as equals, as normally happens in a collective bargaining forum.

If we go to the WRC or the Labour Court, all we are doing is leading these people on a merry-go-round and nothing will be achieved because the Department will say it is not the employer and is not implementing an agreement. We are caught in a bind. The entire sector is broken and needs to be fixed.

The only way to fix it is through a whole-of-government approach, particularly from the Department of Social Protection. I will ask my colleagues to answer some of the more specific questions.