Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

They are not public service organisations but they are providing public services. They are doing it on wage rates that are way behind those who are their exact and direct equivalents within the public service. The Tánaiste said it is his hope that the dispute will be resolved, but he could do a little bit more than hope. He could actually be proactive about it, and that is what the families want to see.

Let us bear in mind that these workers do not want to be on strike. That is the last thing they want to do. I know this. I know these workers well. I represented them. They do not want to have to do this. They are doing it because they have no option. The Tánaiste referenced the community sector and that is somewhat disingenuous, if I can say that, because that is not a direct comparison However, there is a direct comparison within the public service, the HSE and the statutory agencies. We know they have a direct comparison. We know that they traditionally have been linked to those organisations and that link was broken. I ask the Tánaiste to first ensure that there is proactive, good-faith engagement at the WRC. That means decision-makers being in the room and if that necessitates officials from the Department of Finance being there, then they should be there.

Second, if this strike goes ahead, is there provision to maintain the service for those families and service users?

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