Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat.

I thank Deputy Tully for raising this issue for discussion in the House. She has been an advocate for people with disabilities and those working with them, which I really appreciate.

The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge the essential role section 39 community and voluntary organisations play. Their staff provide excellent health and social care services and supports to so many throughout the country.

The Government recognises that the ability of organisations to recruit and retain staff is crucial to the delivery of quality services and the overall sustainability of the sector. In recognition of the staffing challenges experienced by providers, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Health and the relevant funding agencies proactively engaged with staff unions through a WRC-facilitated voluntary process.

As the Deputy has said, the agreement reached last October committed to a significant increase in investment in the sector, amounting to a phased 8% increase in funding for the pay for staff in section 39, section 56 and section 10 voluntary organisations. This significant increase was welcomed by all parties. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth provided an additional €14 million to meet the 2023 costs of this agreement, and a further €41 million is being provided in 2024 to support section 39 organisations in meeting the full-year costs of the pay increase. The HSE has put in place the necessary arrangements to make this additional funding available and accessible to qualifying organisations.

As a first step, interim funding was paid in late January and early February to all section 39 organisations in receipt of annual funding above €250,000. All eligible section 39 organisations, regardless of the level of funding, were subsequently issued with a prepopulated template to facilitate claims for the full amount of funding due to their employees. Templates were issued to more than 1,140 organisations to facilitate the uploading of relevant information through a dedicated portal. The administrative arrangements developed by the HSE are designed to make funding available as efficiently as possible to the employer organisations while also providing for appropriate accountability in the expenditure of public moneys.

Given a relatively slow initial response from employers, the HSE wrote to all section 39 funded organisations requesting that they submit their claims and offering support to organisations that have queries about the process. As of last Thursday, 18 April, 363 organisations have submitted details, and requests are being validated and processed as they come in. It is the objective of the HSE to make all due payments without delay so employees of the organisations can access their entitlements as soon as possible. The HSE is working through eligibility issues as they arise and dealing directly with the section 39 organisations on a case-by-case basis. Staff employed in these organisations understandably want to see the increases reflected in their take-home pay. The important message for them is that the HSE is progressing the process with their employers as speedily as possible.

It should also be noted that, following agreement on the recent public sector pay deal, in which the Deputy is particularly interested, Departments, agencies and unions will engage in further talks at the WRC next month. It is in the interest of staff that their employers have a direct and proactive role in this round of further discussions. It remains a key objective of the Government to ensure appropriate funding is available to give stability to service providers for the delivery of quality supports and services to people with disabilities, in addition to paying the workers.

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