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

What I am about to ask again cuts to the heart of honesty in the framing of the health Estimate. I refer to section 39 organisations. What happened was fundamentally dishonest. When the public service pay determination was agreed to and new agreements were made, everybody assumed that those who worked in disability organisations and hospices would have their pay restored in line with that of HSE employees, as had always been the case. It was the case when the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation cuts were administered, as a paper trail demonstrated and proved. The Workplace Relations Commission endorsed the link between HSE employees and employees in section 39 organisations. The HSE, the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach tried to bluff in parliamentary replies and said that as those concerned were not public servants, therefore, there could not be pay restoration. That has changed and I welcome it in so far as it is acknowledged that something has to be investigated. For the past two months we have been told that there is an issue with expenditure in the area of health. It is terrible that SIPTU and-----

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