Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

-----and was very impressed with what he saw. It is important that we do what we can to protect our biodiversity, which includes our wild animals, birds and plants.

I wish our Special Olympics athletes well. They are flying out to Turin on Friday next for the Special Olympics World Winter Games. There are 14 athletes competing and there is a full team of 23, including managers and coaches. I understand that 80 family members are travelling with them, and 50 volunteers. Our 14 athletes are competing in floorball and Alpine skiing, as well as taking part in the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes programme and Global Youth Leadership Summit. A huge congratulations to those 14 individuals who trained really hard to secure their places. They are shining examples of perseverance and determination. I will also give a shout-out to the 260 clubs around the island of Ireland and those who participated but just did not qualify on this occasion. I know that we all wish them well.

I also want to mention section 39 workers. As we know, where the HSE has outsources its responsibilities to voluntary groups, they hire their own staff to do the same work. These are section 39 workers. They are not public servants and do not receive public service pensions. While historically they got the same pay, after pay was cut during the recession it was not restored to section 39 workers.

There are thousands of people working in section 39 organisations. A pay agreement was struck at the WRC in October 2023, which has not been honoured. Most of these people do really important work in the areas of health, social care and disability. It is really important they are supported and I certainly want to stand with them and I urge the Government to ensure that this pay parity is reached, agreed to and implemented.