Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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I am delighted to have the witnesses here today. People may not know but I am a member of Fórsa. I was in the school completion programme branch for a very long time. I was delighted to be at the Fórsa education conference at the Easter break.

We in the Social Democrats fully support this strike action. We need to be very clear here. There will be huge disruption but that is the point of a strike. If it is not disruptive, then there is no point. People need to know that strike action is the end of the road. Anyone who has been in a union knows that when you take strike action it is the last resort. Nobody wants to do that. Certainly nobody working in a school wants to take strike action. They do not because it means that nothing else is working. It is not right that we have this situation. I have heard today about the pay disparity between ETB staff and non-ETB staff. That is unacceptable.

I am quite annoyed. I will try to calm down a little bit, but it is just so infuriating that throughout my working life, the most vulnerable staff members in the education system have constantly had to fight for what is a basic right. A pension is not a gift; it is a right. People should be protected in employment contracts and should not have to sign on over the summer months. For some people, and I have experience of this, it is an absolute nightmare to sign on over the summer, particularly if a person is jointly assessed with somebody else. He or she may not get anything. That affects later pension contributions from the State. Anything we can do to support the witnesses, we will do.

Is there anything our witnesses would like to say? I do not have a question; I am just delighted they are here. I am thankful to Deputy O'Rourke for suggesting this, and we will write. Is there anything our witnesses would like to say here? I am happy to give that time.