Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas le Páirtí an Lucht Oibre agus leis an Teachta Duncan Smith as an rún seo a chuir os comhair na Dála. Tá sé fíorthábhachtach go bhfuil an rún seo á phlé againn inniu. I also thank and commend the trade unions for their representation of these workers. I commend the amazing work of our friends in the community and voluntary sector, some of whom are here with us today. It is essential that we have this debate and this conversation within the Dáil but it should not just end as a conversation. Something must come out of this. I note the Government is not opposing this motion but there is a difference between not opposing something and supporting it.

Every single one of us who lives and works within our communities knows that the community and voluntary sectors are the unsung heroes of so many of our services. That includes our health services but many others as well. Although they are not technically part of the public sector, we are acutely aware that the public sector would not be able to function without them. In many instances they are performing services comparable with those in the public sector and in some instances they work closely with those in the public sector but do not enjoy the same pay and conditions. There is an incredible unfairness at the heart of all of this. Many of these workers suffered pay cuts at the time of the financial and economic crisis. The Minister said that FEMPI did not technically apply to community and voluntary organisation but we know that in reality, those pay cuts did apply for many of them. There is no technicality around the restoration of that pay and those conditions. We know how that happened in practice but I often think about how one Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform was able to bring in those pay cuts. We need the current Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform here today to also look at how we can bring in pay restoration for these people and workers, as the economy has got back on its feet, to recognise everything they have done. They have been forced to take industrial action and to fight. They have had to lodge pay claims with the Workplace Relations Commission and they have been asked to do more with less and for less.

I think of the fantastic work that has been done by the likes of the rape crisis centres, Enable Ireland and many others and the real difference they have made in people's lives. They have done this because they are driven by conviction and the desire to make a difference in people's lives. They have made a difference and they know that because families tell them this and we see it ourselves. Unfortunately, this has been met by indifference on the part of the State. That needs to change.

This all comes down to one crucial aspect. Something I have long tried to get my head around since being elected is the relationship between these organisations and the State. I welcome that the Minister is here. As he has recognised, many of these organisations fall under different arms within the Government. There is not a one-stop shop for who exactly everything falls under or which income streams apply to them. The Minister stated that there are at least 83,714 staff in these organisations. I have submitted questions, as have many others, to find out exactly how many people fall within these organisations and exactly where different funding streams come out of. If we actually want to look at this collectively and take this approach to it, we need that kind of information. The Minister says this is the latest data available to him. I would love to see exactly where those data come from and I will submit a follow-up question directly to the Minister's office to see that. This is information that many within Sinn Féin, as well as the trade union sector and other parties, have tried to get.

I wanted to say something specifically to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform but I will bring that directly to him. It relates to his Civil Service renewal strategy and the establishment of a national data infrastructure. The strategy states that this will "unlock the power of administrative data and improve the lives of the Irish public through evidence informed policies and effective services". When we have a situation like this where we do not actually know how many workers there are within these services, we need to take a serious approach to this and look at that initiative.

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