Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, United Left) | Oireachtas source

It is very important to put on record that local development companies are non-profit organisations at the moment. They deliver programmes to tackle poverty and social exclusion, provide assistance for enterprise creation, support the long-term unemployed, and offer education and child support in partnership with Departments and agencies. The LDCs have 20 years experience in implementing the programmes. They have employed 1,900 staff. The Government must be answerable on its role in dismantling the system and on the provision of badly needed social supports in communities.

I wish to challenge the Government on two issues. The first relates to the EU procurement directive which will now apply to LDCs and the fact they will now be put out to tender to for-profit organisations for the provision of important social services. The austerity of the past six years has taken €30 billion out of the economy and that is having a huge impact on people's lives and their communities. I question the shift in the operation of the LDCs by the Government. I question the opposition of many Labour Party Deputies to the move as they expressed support for workers in LDCs. It is disgraceful that the Government is supporting the tendering of public services to the for-profit sector. That should not happen. I would have presumed the measure would have been totally opposed by the Labour Party.

The Minister responded in yesterday's debate to accusations of a lack of consultation. He said: "Any suggestion that I or my Department have not engaged in consultation simply does not stand up to scrutiny." I challenge that. SIPTU has said there were no serious, tangible discussions, debate or consultation with the SIPTU workers involved. One meeting took place in September and from then on the workers were not involved in a consultation process. Many Labour Party Deputies attended the meetings with workers and said there should be no lock-out of workers from consultation, but that is what happened. The workers were locked out and there was no serious consultation with them. The Minister should not be allowed to say otherwise.

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