Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

To say we give schools the money and they are responsible for this is an abdication of responsibility. Whereas they are not legally defined as such, these people are certainly public servants. It is argued that they are not employees of the State, despite the fact that the body that employs them on a long-term basis is funded by the State. The third reason put forward is these people have not made public sector pension contributions throughout their working lives but they have not been given the right to do so. Like many others, these are undervalued workers inside our public services. I call on the Minister to review the position.

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