Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

At 3 a.m., at the eleventh hour, plans for indefinite strike action by section 39, section 56 and section 10 workers in the community and voluntary sector were called off, following a late agreement being reached at the WRC. Why did the Government let this go to the wire? In recent weeks, we have all been contacted by care staff, traumatised at the notion that people who rely on them will be left without a service. We have been contacted by many individuals and parents of children who need these services and have been scrambling to make alternative arrangements for today. It is not good enough that resolution was reached so late.

More than a year ago, my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, introduced a motion to this House, calling for someone in the Government to take ownership of the issue. We understand that union membership has increased fivefold in affected workplaces in recent weeks because people who work in the community and voluntary care sector feel they cannot trust or rely on the Government to treat them fairly. Will the Taoiseach do the right thing, rather than, once again, leaving staff and service users foundering until the last minute? Will he commit to ensuring pay parity with counterparts in the HSE will be reached for these heroic workers?

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