Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for bringing me on to my specialist topic, which is unions. It is important to say with regard to the pay talks concluded last year that while it was very welcome, it has really highlighted the fact that we need the employers, which are the lead agencies of the section 39 organisations, more involved when it comes to pay negotiations and talks. The question is where it is at at this moment in time. There are 1,300-odd section 39 organisations that fall in under disabilities, and they are under the KOSI Corporation mechanism. Would you believe it, only 200 section 39 organisations have responded, which means there is a huge unmet financial piece there. We have the funds. They have been secured. They have been given to the HSE but there is a process involved in claiming that money, and it means the section 39 organisations have to fill out the forms in order to draw down the money.

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