Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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404. To ask the Minister for Health the reason pay parity for staff working in residential homes caring for children has not been addressed (details supplied). [5719/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Under section 39 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE provides financial assistance to organisations by means of a grant. Section 39 legally underpins the provision of services similar or supplementary to a service that the HSE may provide. Staff in these section 39 organisations were not subject to the provisions of FEMPI legislation and therefore did not receive those cuts that were applied to the pay of public servants. They were not and are not party to the Public Service Agreements and are therefore not covered by the pay restoration provided for in these Agreements. While it is understood that pay savings were made by the organisations, the precise mix of pay cuts or other savings measures will have varied.

In October 2018, an agreement was reached by the parties at the Workplace Relations Commission in relation to a process of pay restoration for staff employed in Section 39 organisations who met certain criteria, rather than types of individual workers that are employed in them. Only organisations who received in excess of an agreed, specified amount from the HSE by way of the Service Level Agreement process were included.

It must be acknowledged that Section 39 organisations are privately owned and run and that their terms and conditions of employment, once in line with employment legislation, are strictly between the employer and the employee.

Consequently, it would not be appropriate for the Department of Health or the Minister of Health to comment on terms and conditions of employment within the private sector.

Pay restoration is absolutely limited and only applicable to those included in the initial WRC agreement. I can also confirm that there is no scope to revisit the eligibility criteria for the process and that from a Departmental point of view, the process has reached a final resolution.