Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. We will not have a community and voluntary sector if the pay and conditions of these workers are not dealt with, similarly to how the public service was dealt with.

As someone who served as a member of a board for many years, I remember how, before 2011, people started off on the same pay. That link was broken and has never been restored. It should be restored.

We talk about funding of €100 million. As the Minister alluded to, that funding is being provided. On further investigation, because people believed this was about pay restoration or pay increases, it turns out the funding is for the cost-of-living crisis for projects and not the workers involved with those projects. The money is for heating and energy. There should be funding for both. Those community projects should not be fighting about whether there should be extra pay for workers or whether they pay the bills and keep the doors open. Two separate payments are required. I listened to Linda Scully yesterday. She spoke about her 22 years of involvement with her project. She has not had a pay rise in 14 years. Name any worker in any sector who has not received a pay rise in 14 years. Linda manages people in community centres, church halls, childcare and sports organisations. I think we all agree that the latter are the backbone of our communities. What I found interesting is that Linda is the employer. Those involved have no say regarding their salaries. That is set by the Government. They have no say over hours. Again, these are set by the Government. What we find astonishing and what any person would find astonishing is that when it comes to increasing wages over a decade, the Government says that this is the responsibility of the voluntary boards, the HSE or Tusla - everybody else except the body that sets all the other conditions.

It is really important that we have pay restoration and pay increases that bring people to the level of the public sector because there is an equalisation here. There are people in the public sector doing exactly the same job as people in the community, voluntary and charitable sector and it is only fair, right and decent that these people are treated in the same way as they were prior to 2008.

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