Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister's answer. FÓRSA needed to make that pay claim because that is how we will get to the end point of having a contract that is fit for purpose. Similar to the educators, this is a means of regularising the situation and putting personal assistants on a decent footing, which may be comparable to SNAs or others, because what we have at the moment is not sustainable for students or for personal assistants as employees. On some level, they feel that the situation is indicative of great disrespect, especially as it has gone on for a considerable time.

I welcome the additional funding. Hopefully, the pay claim can be dealt with as quickly as possible and beyond that, I hope we can work on the other terms and conditions to deliver for students with disabilities. That is what this is about; it is about ensuring that they can be facilitated through the further education framework.

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