Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I also thank the Labour Party for the opportunity to speak on this really important issue. Last week, I was a member of the Sinn Féin team that met community employment supervisors in Leinster House. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have refused to give any pay increases to these workers for the past 14 years. The starting rate of pay for an assistant community employment supervisor is €11.01, which works out at less than the proposed minimum wage. You think of the crucial roles these workers play in our community. My constituency office is in a local unemployment and training centre and many of the staff are community employment workers. I am a former community employment worker. In 2009, I was out of work for the first time after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I got a start as a community employment worker in a local addiction centre. My community employment supervisor encouraged me to enter third level education. I did so and eventually got a degree in addiction and counselling and went on to manage addiction centres over the years. I have no doubt that without the vital intervention I received from the community employment supervisor, I would not be a Deputy representing the people of Dublin Mid-West. I am calling on the Government to resolve this matter and to give community employment supervisors the pay increase they deserve.

I also want to mention youth workers. Ronanstown Youth Service plays an invaluable role in my community. It often holds children as statutory services such as child and adult mental health services, the HSE and other statutory bodies are not meeting children’s needs. Youth workers receive referrals from gardaí, the HSE and social workers but are not recognised in the same way when it comes to working terms and conditions. Youth workers were at the forefront during the pandemic. Engaging with young people who had lost all their normal structures like schools, sports clubs and everything else that went with just being a young person. During the bust, youth workers received a 10% reduction in funding, and, 13 years later, they have not fully recovered this deficit. Youth workers are way behind other sectors when it comes to pay increases. They are just looking for parity and a professional recognition of their vocation. Youth workers go above and beyond the call of duty in the care the give our young people and failing to invest in youth workers is failing to invest in our future generations.

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