Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

One of the driving rationales for the Cabinet sub-committees that we have discussed is to achieve what the Taoiseach called a coherence in government and cross-departmental working. That is important and it is very challenging for public administration to reach that point. In the case of health, a number of immediacies need to be recognised. The first is the reality that because of the public health crisis, the Covid emergency, many services were compromised and therefore, people's needs, necessarily in many cases, got put on the long finger. There is a shared concern across the Oireachtas regarding the morbidity effects of that and we need to have a really concerted effort not just to get service provision back to where it was but to invest more heavily. I believe that means investment in the public system. I do not believe that the route of privatisation or putting public money into private provision is the way forward. I think we have had that for too long.

Many of the section 39 organisations that provide essential services, albeit at arm's length from the State, have really felt the pinch and pressure in these times of emergency. We need to look again at the entire model of provision, as to how those services are supported. I raise with the Taoiseach the stark reality that for many section 38 and 39 organisations, their ability to independently fundraise has been very seriously compromised because of the emergency provisions and this needs to be taken into account.

The protections and rights as employees of those who work within those organisations providing services also need to be comprehensively reviewed. We must be absolutely sure that in every respect, including pension entitlements, these workers are fully respected, recognised and protected.

The Taoiseach knows, as I do, that this is not currently the case.

See this speech in context