Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will take this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. To begin, I would like to clarify that under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each chief executive of a local authority is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority. Each local authority is a separate employer and the Local Government Management Agency represents the local government sector’s management in discussions with unions at a sector level. As the Deputy will be aware, it is the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform who is responsible for setting public pay policy and leading pay negotiations on behalf of Government. Fórsa submitted a claim for the introduction of a job evaluation scheme in the local government sector. Talks in respect of this claim concluded without resolution at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. It was open thereafter for Fórsa to utilise the provisions of the public service pay agreement and-or the State’s industrial relations processes. Fórsa has instead escalated immediately to industrial action, which is a matter of concern. Under the current public service agreement, Building Momentum, parties are required to abide by its terms, including maintaining industrial peace and using the agreed mechanisms for escalation of any disagreements. The Minister is keenly aware of the impact that this industrial action is having not only in Dublin City Council but in all local authorities. The Fórsa members involved in the industrial action in the local government sector provide important services for the public, to which some disruption can be expected in the time ahead. Government has engaged with staff representative associations collectively since the early days of social partnership to reach a decision on multi-annual pay agreements for public servants. Building Momentum runs to the end of 2023 and provides a 9.5% pay increase over three years for most public servants, increasing to 12.5% for lower-paid staff. Any new claims outside of the terms of the current agreement can be raised by the unions in future agreement negotiations, discussions on which are expected to commence shortly and will be led by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.

I agree with Deputy Andrews in relation to the concerns he raised about vulnerable people. I took it upon myself yesterday to contact the general secretary of Fórsa in relation to the action taken by Fórsa members in not dealing with councillors, Deputies, Senators or Ministers. We are all public representatives and we contact local authorities on behalf of vulnerable people. The Deputy, the Ceann Comhairle, I and everybody in this House will go home tonight, put the key in our front doors, have something to eat, watch television and go to bed. When I contact Limerick City Council or Limerick County Council, I contact them on behalf of vulnerable people, homeless people, people in desperate need and in dire straits. I feel strongly about the action or decision taken by Fórsa members not to deal with public representatives. It does not matter to me if somebody does not want to speak to me but it matters to the vulnerable person who contacted me and needs my help, or Deputy Andrews's help or representation or mine to achieve whatever they need from their local authority. To Fórsa and the people who have taken the decision not to engage with public representatives, I say it is not hurting public representatives, it is hurting the vulnerable people we seek to impact. I ask them to reconsider.

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