Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak on this important motion and thank my colleague in Fianna Fáil for bringing it forward. Section 39 agencies include our local hospices, community and disability organisations and other health care providers who offer vital services to our communities. Groups like the Marymount hospice do incredible work for our sick family members and friends around Cork. Community and voluntary groups, such as meals on wheels, the Goleen community council or the Schull community care association, provide social services to the elderly under section 39 funding. Most section 39 agencies save the State tens of thousands of euro weekly and work hard throughout the year, including during the Christmas period - some organisations in west Cork worked on Christmas Day.

Employees of section 39 agencies experienced the same cuts as all public sector employees did under the FEMPI legislation over the past number of years, although they are only partially funded by the HSE. Including section 39 employees in FEMPI cuts seemed like a harsh measure at the time. However, this has now been amplified by the notice that section 39 employees are now not entitled to the same pay restoration as a other public service employees who were originally hit by the FEMPI cuts. This is not the first time that I have raised the issue of FEMPI pay restoration for public services, in particular our GPs and the detrimental effect FEMPI has had on their local surgeries.

Section 39 agencies provide necessary services to our elderly and sick people and take huge pressure off part-time care givers and family members. The threat of industrial action by these agencies is a cause of great stress and anxiety to service users, and the Government, along with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, must act immediately to rectify the pay differences in order to deter any possible strike action. The cost of industrial action to the State is far greater than the cost of restoring these anomalies.

It is simply not good enough that certain groups can be excluded from the Government finance reform programme, and the fact that the Government and HSE has treated section 39 employees with such contempt is disgraceful. This is similar to other wrongdoings on the part of the Government. The west Cork development partnership delivered a Government Leader programme for up to 20 years. When the previous Government kicked it out, it did not have the decency to give the staff their statutory notice or their proper redundancy entitlements. Instead, people were only offered advice. The remainder of the company was under charitable organisation status. We have turned into a great country. Section 39 employees got up early in the morning and delivered a top-class Leader programme for over 20 years in west Cork, but were treated disgracefully by the Government, just like it treated the issue of women's pension.

All our health care workers, whether in fully funded or partially funded HSE roles, are worked to the bone. This issue was highlighted most recently in the horrific trolley crisis over the Christmas period. I plead with the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Government to examine these anomalies and restore pay to section 39 employees without further delay.

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