Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail)

I have come from the committee on social protection, community development and rural affairs. We heard a prebudget submission from the public participation networks, PPN. The representative from Kildare PPN and Siobhan Cronogue from Longford PPN spoke eloquently about the phenomenal work they have done to support integration and community groups throughout the country. However, they also addressed an outstanding issue on the pay of the PPN co-ordinators. We thought we had made progress on this in the lifetime of the previous Government but, unfortunately, it remains a sticking point. At present, only five PPNs are classified as companies limited by guarantee and are on the proper rate, and five others are managed externally.The issue is that the co-ordinators in the PPNs are dealing with local authority staff and people running community safety partnerships, people who are technically on the same level as themselves. Where this falls down is that PPN co-ordinators are paid through the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, while those other staff members are paid through the Department of housing. Last year, a payment of €14,500 was given to PPNs for this year. The Department indicated that this could be used to address the grading issue, moving co-ordinators from grade 5 to grade 7. Unfortunately, several of the local authorities said this would not be possible because staff were still employed by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht rather than by local government. I ask that we contact the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht as a matter of urgency to ensure this is resolved for staff in this critical infrastructure who work to develop our communities nationwide.