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

That is a cop-out. It is unacceptable and dishonest. The HSE has been auditing these organisations year in, year out. There was correspondence from the Labour Court hearing from 14 December 2009 and January 2010 instructing these organisations, at the time of the pay cuts, to align their pay scales with the HSE pay scales. The net effect of that, said the Labour Court, was to apply pay cuts. Let us have honesty here. We know that St. Joseph's Foundation in Charleville and Marymount University Hospital and Hospice are in deep trouble financially because of this Government policy relating to these organisations. They include Abilitywest and others throughout the country. In saying that a process is now beginning, is the Taoiseach suggesting that, for the entirety of 2017, no one bothered to assess this? Did no one in the Department of Health say that, when the pay agreement was reached, section 39 organisations would be included? The opposite decision was taken. They were excluded and the Government hoped it would get away with it because it might upset the budgetary figures if they were included. That is what happened and it needs to be faced up to. I have seen the letter on behalf of the Minister to these organisations now suggesting that any resolution will have to be put into the service plan of 2019. It is obfuscation, delaying, fudge and basic dishonesty. The Taoiseach said months ago that he would look at this. He has not. He has gone along with this charade and this idea that we will begin a process on 31 January or whatever. That is wrong and it needs to be reversed. It is not fair to the workers in these organisations.

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