Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Those words were clearly anything but what the Deputy has termed them. As she has rightly said, if the Deputy reads the programme for Government, and she referenced it, it commits the Government to working with the sector through the mechanisms that are available to progress the issues. As I said to her colleague Deputy Kerrane when she raised this matter, we have seen the interim agreement in October 2023. We have seen State agencies work with service providers to administer the associated pay funding adjustments. The fact is Departments offered a further 8.5% increase in funding for pay. When that is coupled with the October 2023 situation, it means that funding for pay will increase by 16.5% over three and a half years. Ministers will now seek an early opportunity to restart engagement with unions and employers through the Workplace Relations Commission. I appreciate the vital role that these workers play, but I also appreciate the number of people who depend on those services. I know the Deputy raised the matter in that spirit.

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