Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Dara Calleary for tabling the motion and welcome the opportunity to speak about this very fundamental issue. I know that the Minister of State met representatives of St. Joseph's Foundation in Charleville on 12 January 2017 when they outlined to him the issues involved in pay restoration. I will speak specifically about how the issue is affecting St. Joseph's Foundation and the deficit in funding. Everyone must accept that section 39 organisations are doing absolutely massive work. St Joseph's Foundation has been a service provider for 50 years. It has been expanding the services it provides. It is looking at new therapies and better ways to help young people with disabilities. It provides care from the cradle to the grave. Its interaction with the local community and the way in which it supports it through fund raising are second to none. However, organisations such as St. Joseph's Foundation are at a crucial juncture and what happens in 2018 will define them.

We are calling on the Government to ensure flexibility on the block grant section 39 organisations must negotiate every year with the HSE. There is no give or encouragement from the HSE which is constantly looking for cutbacks, value for money audits and so forth. There is no doubt that funding for the organisations has been pared back to the bone in the past ten years and what happens in 2018 will tell a lot in how they move forward in recruiting and retaining staff if they do not receive adequate funding from the HSE. The staff and boards of organisations such as St. Joseph's Foundation work so hard to comply with HSE regulations and budgets. We are at a critical point and it will be a crying shame if critical services for clients of all ages are cut back because of staff shortages. We were told back in November that there was reason to be hopeful with regard to pay restoration, but we are now in January and the issue is nowhere near to being resolved. Pay restoration must be top of the agenda. I appeal to the Minister of State to take this on board. This is not just another Private Member's motion; it deals with a very serious issue that is affecting people at all levels and we need action to deal with it.

There are many other issues facing disability services. This morning I raised the issue of insurance costs. There are also issues for service providers in complying with HIQA regulations without the provision of additional funding. One arm of the HSE is stating the service providers must comply with regulation A, B and C, while another is refusing to provide additional funding to enable them to do so. This will cost services for people who badly need them unless the Government agrees to increase the block grants to section 39 organisations. It will not be enough to increase the grant in 2019 or 2020; this is a critical year for the organisations. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to the debate.

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