Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At the beginning of last month, and indeed, before then, I raised the plight of section 39 bodies in the health area, specifically hospices. They are being treated in a particularly shabby, cynical and dishonest manner in relation to pay restoration and funding for that by the Minister for Health and the Government generally. This relates to the Lansdowne Road agreement and new public sector pay agreements.

The hospice movement is one of the most cherished areas of care in our health service, uniquely enjoying almost universal approval from the public for the remarkable care, empathy and space that it gives to families and their loved ones at the end of their lives. It also provides a range of services, including community-based care, respite and advice. The clearest manifestation of this has been the public endorsement of hospices through extraordinary fundraising over the years, for both capital and current funding. Hospices would not be able to keep their doors open were it not for the public support for fundraising that goes on constantly. Therefore, I am surprised by the degree to which the Department of Health, the Minister and the Taoiseach have been stonewalling on a simple and key issue of pay restoration similar to that enjoyed by public servants in the HSE arising from the new public service pay agreement, Lansdowne Road and the unwinding of the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, pay cuts.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, have told me in replies to parliamentary questions that FEMPI did not apply to section 39 bodies, but it did. There is a trail of documents. I met representatives of five hospices who produced the documentation to this effect from Barry O'Brien, the national director of human resources, in November 2013. He was very clear, writing of the consistent application and implementation of the provisions of the Haddington Road agreement and appointing an assurance team to work with all HSE and HSE-funded agencies to bring this about. There is also a letter to the then CEO of Galway hospice on 7 October 2013 which refers to the implementation of payroll and related cost reductions in line with other publicly funded bodies. The Labour Court made an adjudication against Milford Care Centre at the time, telling it that it must implement the cuts because that linkage with the HSE pay scales was there and was acknowledged.

It is time to end the Jesuitical playacting around this issue and the splitting of hairs that characterises the Government's response to date. The record should be corrected because the pay cuts were applied to hospices. The funding should be restored to hospices and the link to the HSE pay scales should be restored forthwith. I want the Taoiseach to confirm today that he will do that.

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