John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will not protract this debate. The issue is known to the Minister and departmental officials. I welcome the appointment of a chairperson. I noted in previous replies that the forum met in November 2015 and on 11 April 2016, so it is well and truly due to sit again.

The Minister explicitly stated that these supervisors were not direct employees of the State, but he also admitted that their employing organisations were primarily funded by the State. Following benchmarking, pay relativity and so on, these employees were closely aligned with public servants.

In all of the Minister's replies, he has indicated that this matter will be examined by the high level forum, which is welcome. However, the matter has dragged on for a long time. The forum has met twice but has not done so for some time. With the appointment of a chairperson, I hope that it will meet actively and address this issue with the requisite level of seriousness instead of allowing the matter to continue year after year.

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