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

A considerable process has been underway regarding this issue long before this Government was formed. In 2018, the former Minister for Health requested that the HSE engage with Section 39 organisations to establish the facts on what cuts were applied during the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, period. The HSE conducted a data-gathering exercise on an agreed list of 50 pilot organisations. I will not go through it all, but an agreement was reached by the parties in October 2018 on a process of pay restoration for staff employed by the 50 pilot agencies. Pay restoration commenced in April 2019 with an annual pay increase of up to €1,000 and an outstanding balance was paid in 2020 and 2021. A further Workplace Relations Commission engagement followed in December 2020 relating to a final phase involving 250 organisations identified as part of the earlier agreement.

A payment arrangement consisting of three phases was agreed, with the first two payments to be made in 2021 and the third and final payment due to be made in 2023. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is due to meet a delegation from ICTU by the end of November to discuss these issues.

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