Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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44. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the steps his Department is actively taking to assist an organisation (details supplied) regarding its staffing crisis at present, which has resulted in day services being stopped for service users. [19492/24]

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the staffing issues the IWA is facing, which are reflective of challenges affecting the wider health and social care sector, and impacting on the ability of the HSE and other providers like the IWA to deliver services.

Due to the sudden and unplanned extended leave of key staff members, IWA Cavan found itself in a position where it could not safely continue to provide full services within its centre. IWA Cavan implemented a contingency plan to provide community outreach support to service users on a temporary basis.

The HSE is supporting the continuing efforts of IWA Cavan to recruit additional personnel to fill vacant positions, including the use of specialist recruitment agencies and extending the search into Northern Ireland. Further interviews were held last week, with more scheduled this month, and the IWA has advised that 2 of an initial 4 successful candidates have accepted job offers. The new staff are currently in the on-boarding phase. Their proposed start date of 1st July 2024 will facilitate a graduated return to on site day services with the number of days increasing with further successful recruitment. The use of agency staff as a short-term measure is also being explored.

I appreciate the frustration faced by service users and their families, and I am assured that all possible avenues are being exhausted in order to fill the vacant posts with appropriate staff as quickly as possible.

It is important to note that Section 39 providers, such as the IWA, are not public bodies. These organisations are independently operated. Their terms and conditions of employment, once in line with employment legislation, are strictly between the IWA and its employees. Notwithstanding this point, it is accepted that the ability to determine pay and conditions for staff is highly dependent on State funding.

To support organisations like the IWA to recruit and retain staff, the Department and its agencies engaged with a Workplace Relations Commission process with unions representing staff in Section 39 disability organisations, as well as other providers. This engagement led to the agreement of an 8% pay increase last October, which is a significant uplift in the funding available to the IWA and many others.

A preliminary payment was made to the IWA in early February 2024. The IWA’s subsequent application to the HSE was approved and the organisation will benefit from an additional €4.9m to facilitate staff pay increases across the organisation. This increased funding encompasses pay cost increases for staff in IWA Cavan and other locations.