Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy knows, section 39 workers are a diverse group. They are not public servants and they are not Government employees but the work that they do is extraordinarily valuable. Some are employees of companies, some are employees of NGOs and some are employees of charities. These companies, NGOs and charities receive grant funding from the Government to fund partially or fully their operations but they are not employees of Government and they are not public servants, which is what makes this a complicated issue to deal with. Funding for section 39 bodies has been increased and will be increased again.

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