Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We very much value the work carried out by these organisations and the people who work in them. As I have said before, it is important to understand that they are not public sector employees. We do not determine what their salary is, what their pensions are, who gets hired or who does not get hired. They are outside of the public service. However, the Government is the main funder of all the services they provide. That is why we absolutely have a role to play in funding these organisations. An offer of a 5% pay increase is on the table which would kick in within a matter of weeks in November. Of that, 3% would be backdated which means that people would get a lump sum, perhaps in time for Christmas. There is a commitment to engage on a further increase if and when we have a public service pay deal. That is what was done in the past. The pay deal was done with the public servants and subsequent to that, a few months later, an agreement was made with the section 39 sector.

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