Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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301. To ask the Minister for Health if he will examine the situation of heath care workers that work for section 39 organisations and are not directly paid by the HSE and therefore will not be paid increases to be paid to workers in HSE employment; and if there is a provision for funding for section 39 organisations to be increased to allow for pro rata increases for staff. [50857/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under section 39 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE has in place Service Level Agreements with voluntary providers which set out the level of service to be provided for the grant to the individual organisation. Any individuals employed by these section 39 organisations are not HSE employees, therefore neither the HSE nor the Minister have a role in determining the salaries or other terms and conditions applying to these staff.

The staff of these Section 39 organisations are not public servants and therefore were not subject to the FEMPI legislation which imposed pay reductions. It follows then that the staff of the section 39 bodies will not be eligible for any pay restoration which is provided for under the more recent Public Service Agreements. It is a matter for Section 39 organisations to negotiate salaries with their staff as part of their employment relationship and within the overall funding available for the delivery of agreed services.