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

I thank the Deputy. In the health sector in recent years, for example, upward adjustments have been made in the pay of some eligible section 39 workers, following a process led by the Department of Health and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform at the Workplace Relations Commission in 2019. That resulted in funding being made available for pay increases for a pilot scheme involving 50 agencies. In 2021, there was further engagement by the Department of Health at the Workplace Relations Commission, which resulted in funding being made available for pay increases for cohorts of staff in the remaining 250 agencies identified in 2019. This decision was final in respect of the number of organisations that were to be funded. That is an illustration of an earlier process to deal with a earlier, parallel situation similar to the one we have now after Building Momentum and the recent public sector pay agreement, which was negotiated and voted for by the social partners. In my view, some process has to entered into.

I caution that the Labour Party motion is of such a breadth as to almost be indeterminate as to which organisations would be covered. It is vast. However, we need to get into some process to get the issues resolved for these organisations.

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