Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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836. To ask the Minister for Health if pay restoration applies to posts established by the drug and alcohol task forces and funded through the HSE with interim funding for the purpose of its costing exercise for pay restoration; if the HSE included all the posts and projects as section 39 funded (details supplied); if the HSE and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are committed to providing the additional funding needed to pay for pay restoration; if not, if the HSE is expecting the projects to find the funding from elsewhere; and if pay restoration is part of the deal as described in the media recently. [44993/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As we are aware, an agreement was reached by parties at the Workplace Relations Commission in October 2018, in relation to a process of pay restoration for staff employed by 50 pilot agencies. Pay restoration commenced in April 2019 with an annual pay increase of up to €1,000. Any outstanding balance would be paid in two equal amounts in 2020 and 2021, if due.

The agreement reached at the WRC noted that some of the organisations (approximately 250) which did not form part of the pilot phase are also likely to have pay restoration issues. It stated that a process of engagement to address this would commence in 2019. It is the organisations who were identified in that initial agreement reached at the WRC in 2018 that are included in this final phase of pay restoration. I have asked the HSE to advise you directly if the drug and alcohol task forces are included within this group.

Since late 2019, there was a number of meetings between the parties at the WRC, in relation to this final phase. The HSE have been costing this next phase of pay restoration and have asked those eligible 250 organisations, who were included as part of the WRC agreement, to submit an application which will be subject to assessment and verification by the HSE.

In addition to the costing exercise, engagement has been taking place with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding a proposal to resolve these pay restoration issues.

I can confirm that following engagement at the Workplace Relations Commission in early December, the parties reached an agreement in relation to the 250 organisations. A payment arrangement consisting of three phases was agreed with the first two payments to be made in 2021.