Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I intend sharing time with my colleague, Deputy Sherlock.

I welcome the motion. I will set out some history for colleagues. The cuts were introduced in 2010. The Labour Party started unwinding FEMPI in October 2014. I am keen to set the record straight on that point.

I welcome to the Gallery my colleagues from the various unions, including my union, SIPTU, as well as all the workers who I have met on numerous occasions.

I listened to the speech of the Minister of State and I have a copy of it before me. I had a flashback to some years ago when I served in government and sat where the Minister of State is sitting. I remember when the Minister of State was in opposition. If he was in opposition now while this debate was under way I can imagine how he would perform. The Minister of State has certainly done a volta faceand changed totally in the meantime. The Minister of State says he knows the issue needs to be addressed. He said it is complex and needs careful thought and consideration to reach a solution. Can the Minister of State imagine if it was three years ago and he was sitting in another seat? Can he imagine what he would have said? He would not have accepted the speech he has just given. He would not have accepted the speech put before him which he read with passion. I have no doubt the Minister of State has passion for the disability sector. I genuinely know that for many reasons, as the Minister of State is aware.

This is unacceptable. It is unacceptable that we are even discussing and debating the matter tonight. At the core of this is the fact that workers who are side by side are being paid two different wages through no fault of their own. We know there are up to 12,000 of them. We all know them. They are in all our constituencies. I have many relations and friends who work in section 39 organisations. The fact is these people, who have to be as qualified as their HSE counterparts, are being paid a different wage. That is unacceptable from a labour point of view and from the point of view of the health service they provide.

This is a point I am keen to explore. The services are being depleted. The service being delivered is being impacted by the fact that these people are leaving. I know this directly from highly qualified people working in the sector. In one case, a person spent six years in college. These people are leaving the service even though they have a vocation for the work they do in intellectual disabilities. They are leaving because they cannot live on the wages they are being paid - it is as simple as that. They cannot live or hope to prosper or move on in life and do the normal things that everyone does. This has to be addressed as a priority. This should be the number one priority for the Minister of State. He should deal with this as quickly as possible. This must be dealt with; it is not simply an anomaly.

It is not only about workers, although they are at the core of it. It is also about the service users. They are being badly affected. People will down tools. There will be a strike if the matter is not dealt with or if a pathway towards dealing with it is not found. These are reasonable people. They have been very patient but they have been left behind. They are going to have to take action. Is that what it is going to take? Is it going to have to get up to that stage for the Minister of State to do his job and actually stand over what he believes in? Do the Minister of State and the Independent Alliance have the capacity, despite all the talk, to deliver this in government? That is the core issue. Does the Minister of State have the capacity to deliver something so fundamental and something that he believes in for these workers and the service users? Service users are being affected because the workers cannot stay on the wages they are being paid. That is the key question for the Minister of State. I hope he will be able to answer it in the coming months for all concerned.

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