Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am talking about staff who have been brought across to Irish Water. The certainty of their employment has been assured in service level agreements. The bonus issue will be dealt with by the Labour Relations Commission because what was being done was disgraceful. It was part of their payscale, which was then an incremental system. I understand from my discussions with the union involved that this will be dealt with in the coming weeks. I welcome that. While this is a side issue, it is a very important one for people on relatively low salaries. I am glad this is being brought into the system. People maligned and attacked the staff for negotiating on their own behalf and getting service level agreements that guaranteed them their employment. I commend the staff and their union on doing that. Nothing less should be expected. Of course some people like to malign public sector workers. I completely and totally oppose the concept and the idea that someone in the private sector is a better being than someone in the public sector.