Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2024
616. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth the reason a number of section 39 workers have not received the pay increases that have been agreed to; if he is aware of how this is impacting on the ability of certain organisations (details supplied) to recruit staff into the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24904/24]
View answerThe Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth acknowledges the essential role provided by the staff in organisations who provide services to some of the most vulnerable people in our society and recognises that the ability of community-based organisations to pay their staff is largely dependent on State funding.
To support the sustainability of services, including the ability of voluntary organisations to recruit and retain staff, the Department and its agencies are proactively engaged with a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) process with unions representing staff in what are known as Section 39 and Section 56 organisations. The process also includes staff from providers in other sectors funded by separate statutory agencies and Departments.
The pay agreement reached in October 2023 delivered a significant increase in funding to these services, amounting to a phased 8% increase in funding for pay for Section 39 staff. An additional €41m has been made available to the HSE in 2024 to meet the full year cost of this increase for S39 disability service providers, with the balance provided for in the Department of Health Vote.
The HSE has contracted dedicated resources to work with employer organisations and has set up a portal to expedite payments. Significant interim payments were made to qualifying organisations in late January/early February 2024 and the HSE is currently in the process of administering the balance of funding to eligible organisations.
At 30th May, of 1,160 organisations to whom communication was made, 515 have made submissions.
Almost all submissions require additional interaction between the contractor and the Section 39 organisation; this has been a positive interactive process involving validation and clarification. A number of Section 39s have taken the opportunity to adjust their submissions following this engagement. This process is ongoing with Section 39 organisations who have submitted their claim. As at 30th May, 91 organisations which include the largest organisations have exited this process and KOSI has recommended a cumulative payment total to date of €32.5m (relating to uplifts due to 9,407 workers).
The IWA is one of the Section 39 providers which is eligible to benefit from the 8% pay increase that was agreed between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Health and trade unions in October 2023. An interim payment towards the 2023 element of the pay award was made in early February 2024. The HSE has also recently confirmed that the IWA’s application under the current process was approved. As a result, the organisation has benefitted from an additional €719k to facilitate staff pay increases.
