Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 27 Sep 2012

Vol. 776 No. 2

Topical Issue Debate

Bullying in Schools

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for accepting this issue for discussion. I raise this issue in light of recent research with which I am sure the Minister for Health is only too familiar. The research, published in the Irish Medical Journal, shows that in Ireland suicide is the leading cause of death among young males in the age group 15 to 24. I am conscious that we are having this debate following an interview in a national newspaper today with the father of a young girl who, sadly, took her own life. As the Minister will be aware, various studies down through the years have shown that victims of bullying are in some cases up to nine times more likely to consider suicide, and rates of self-harm have shown a marked increase in recent years, especially in the 15 to 19 year old age group.

In a week when we are discussing the inclusion of an amendment to our Constitution to further protect the rights of children, it is strange there is no defined legislation to deal with bullying within the education system. I am aware the Department of Education and Skills has drawn up guidelines on countering bullying in primary and post-primary schools. This document recommends that the prevention of bullying be a fundamental part of the written code, as prescribed under section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act. The Department is reviewing these guidelines and that is one reason I submitted this issue for debate. I hope that discussion of the issue will lead us to make those guidelines compulsory rather than optional, as they are currently.

Teachers are in a unique position in that they are in daily contact with young children and they have the opportunity to play a significant role in combating and preventing bullying. For them to fulfil that role, however, we need legislation that will put in place the procedures, training, obligations, reporting, oversight and preventative measures needed to tackle the issue of bullying once and for all, particularly among children in schools. I hope the Minister takes these matters on board when reviewing the guidelines because this is an issue that needs greater discussion. The opportunity exists now to introduce legislation that will put the prevention of bullying on a statutory footing.

Minister for Health (Deputy James Reilly)

I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. Suicide is a tragedy that we strive constantly to prevent and also we are working to give more support to the families and school communities affected. Changes in society and technology have added considerably to the difficulties experienced by young people. Bullying can ruin a young person's enjoyment of some of the most important years of his or her life and, unfortunately, in some cases this can have tragic consequences. Schools are expected to have a range of policies that promote the well-being of students and support those who experience difficulty. The Department of Education and Skills funds a number of programmes and has issued guidelines to schools.

Tackling the issue of bullying in schools is a key objective of the Government. It is for this reason my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Quinn, convened an anti-bullying forum in the Department of Education and Skills earlier this year. This forum provided an opportunity to explore with all the relevant stakeholders how best to tackle bullying in schools and to consider the strategies and practices required to address the matter. Submissions were also invited. A working group is working on follow-up actions. A specific aspect of this work is to identify changes to existing practices and policies that could improve how bullying is tackled and how awareness of bullying and its effects can be raised at school level.

The Teaching Council, the State's regulatory body for the teaching profession, sets out clear standards for entry to the profession, including standards of practice that relate to the personal well-being and development of students. The teacher's role in the holistic development of all students is clearly threaded throughout the council's code of professional conduct for teachers. Initial teacher education plays a major role in training teachers and ensuring they are aware of the developmental and emotional needs of their students. As part of their lifelong journey, teachers engage in ongoing professional development and this will become a statutory requirement in the near future. Continuing professional development helps to ensure teachers are aware of current research and best practice in working with young people.

The Teaching Council will work out the detailed requirements in relation to continuing professional development in due course.

As the Deputy may also be aware, the Department currently funds the social, personal and health education programme which provides support for post-primary schools, including training courses on positive strategies for managing bullying issues. Schools are also supported in the review of their anti-bullying policies and practices. There is active collaboration between the Departments of Health and Education and Skills to ensure schools and teachers are supported in their work. I expect that the two Departments will shortly publish guidelines for post-primary schools on the development of a whole-school approach to mental health promotion and suicide prevention. Implementation of the guidelines will be co-ordinated by HSE health promotion officers and the social, personal and health education support service partnership, with the support of the National Educational Psychological Service. Many schools have signed up to the Department of Health's health promoting school initiative which supports the ongoing development and growth of young people and thereby feeds into the preventive approach to bullying in schools. It should be noted that schools and teachers are not alone in tackling the complex and sensitive issue of suicide prevention. Other services and agencies have key roles. Therefore, collaboration is important.

Deputy Jonathan O'Brien

I thank the Minister. He has said his Department and the Department of Education and Skills hope to publish guidelines shortly. While guidelines are important, I would like to know whether there are proposals to legislate for teachers and others who work with children to be required to be aware of the need for training, procedures and accountability in this area. This is an important matter. I am not sure whether the Minister is aware that the National Anti-Bullying Coalition has recently estimated that at least €40 million is spent each year on substitution costs when teachers who have been the victims of bullying are absent. Bullying within the education system is mainly directed at children, but we must recognise that teachers also suffer as a result of it. It is important for this to be recognised and taken on board in proposals or guidelines drawn up by the Minister's Department and the Department of Education and Skills. I hope the Minister will speak to the Minister for Education and Skills when the guidelines are being drafted to see whether it will be possible for legislation to be introduced to make it compulsory for proper bullying procedures to be implemented. It is important for him to do so.

Deputy James Reilly

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline some of the ongoing developments that are most pertinent to the matter he has tabled for debate. I will take on board his concerns about bullying in the workplace, particularly that involving teachers in schools. Thankfully, this country has not yet reached the stage that has been reached in other countries where teachers feel threatened by students when they go to work. It is a key objective of the Government to tackle the issue of bullying in schools. It is of strategic importance to the State to provide for high-quality teaching and learning in schools. We will continue to invest in education to achieve this objective. We will provide for the education and continuing professional development of teachers. In addition, we will support the work of the Teaching Council in codifying the standards expected of teachers and teacher educators, including standards of practice that relate to the personal well-being and development of students.

Job Retention

Deputy Brendan Griffin

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter. I refer to the threatened loss of 30 jobs at the Simpson Strongtie manufacturing plant in Killorglin, County Kerry. I understand the company informed IDA Ireland recently that it had decided to exit the European safety bolt market. It subsequently announced its plans to sell its European business interests which include the facility in Killorglin. If a new buyer is not lined up by the end of the year, the 30 jobs at that facility will be lost. The plant was first established by Liebig in 1970, before being bought by its current owners in 2008. As a result of the global downturn in the construction industry, workers at the facility have been on a three-day week for much of last three years. Unfortunately, it seems that the end will come at the end of this year if something is not done. I am calling for action to be taken to make sure every effort is made to try to find a new buyer for the plant, preferably a buyer that would maintain the 30 jobs in question.

This situation is unfolding in the middle of the country's substantial jobs crisis. At the end of August there were almost 16,000 people on the live register in County Kerry. In a small town like Killorglin, the loss of 30 jobs would have a significant impact on the individuals in question, their families, the local community and the local economy. Everybody would feel the loss. Given that those who have seasonal jobs in the tourism sector were in employment in August, it is clear that the number unemployed in the county will increase in the coming months. I remind the House that the live register figures do not take account of the many young people who have been forced to leave the shores of County Kerry in search of work in last few years. There is a massive problem in the county. Companies such as Aetna which operated a call centre in Castleisland and Amman Industries which was based in Tralee have closed their local facilities in recent years. There has been a virtual collapse in the construction industry in County Kerry. I have been reliably informed by Kerry Country Council that the number of new applications for planning permission will be well under 1,000 this year. This is remarkable considering that the equivalent number was as high as 5,000 or 6,000 six or seven years ago. That is a fair economic indicator.

I ask the Minister to liaise with his colleague in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to ensure everything possible is done to save these jobs. If they are lost, it will be a massive blow to the mid-Kerry area.

Deputy James Reilly

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The facility in question which manufactures safety and anchor bolts used in the construction industry has been in operation in Killorglin since establishment by Liebig in 1970. In 2008 the business was acquired by Simpson Manufacturing, a California-based manufacturer of metal fixings and hangers used in the construction of wooden frame housing. As a result of the construction downturn in the United States and Europe, Simpson Manufacturing has decided to consolidate its business units and concentrate on the market for traditional products and markets in the timber frame sector. As the Deputy is acutely aware, the construction downturn has meant that the Killorglin facility has been on a three-day week for much of the past three years. At a meeting with the management of Simpson Strongtie on 13 September, IDA Ireland was informed that the US-based parent company had decided to exit the safety bolt market in Europe. The company plans to sell as a going concern its European business interests in this sector, which include the Simpson Strongtie manufacturing plant in Killorglin and a sales, research and development facility in Germany. Management personnel have confirmed that the plant will close by the end of the year, with the loss of 30 jobs, if a sale is not successfully concluded by then. Obviously, this decision is very unsettling for the employees and their families. I know that IDA Ireland will continue to be in contact with the company in the next few months with a view to ensuring the best possible outcome for the Killorglin site and its employees. Staff at the company have been informed of the decision to sell the operation and the consequences if the planned sale is not successful. Management will now begin a formal process of consultation with staff and unions.

On the wider issue, job creation is central to our economic recovery. The programme for Government has job creation at its core. Obviously, the Government does not create jobs; entrepreneurs and successful businesses do. However, the Government has a key role to play in providing an environment in which businesses can start, expand and create jobs.

In the context of that role, the Government implemented a jobs initiative aimed at rebuilding confidence in the economy, providing opportunities for re-skilling for those who had lost their jobs and assisting people to get back to work. Building on the jobs initiative, the action plan for jobs, which was launched earlier this year, aims to transform the operating environment for business in order to support enterprise growth and job creation. The Government will achieve this objective by systematically removing obstacles to competitiveness, putting downward pressure on business costs, promoting innovation and trade, supporting new and existing businesses to develop and expand and deepening the impact of foreign direct investment in Ireland. The Government has also identified in the action plan a number of key sectors where Ireland can gain competitive advantage in global markets.

A major element of the Government's response to tackling unemployment is the Pathways to Work initiative, the aim of which is help ensure that as many of those jobs as possible are filled by people from the live register. The role of the Department is to ensure we have the right policies in place that will support and grow our enterprise base in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention. The programmes supported by the Department and its agencies will be critical in achieving economic growth and I know that the agencies - Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the county enterprise boards - will continue to promote Killorglin and the surrounding area for industrial projects and enterprise development. These activities will, in turn, create and protect existing jobs in the area.

I am convinced that the actions we are taking across Government through this process will result in improvements to the operating environment for business and bring about a reduction in the numbers on the live register.

Deputy Brendan Griffin

I thank the Minister for his response. I point out that we have some success stories in Kerry, namely, Liebherr, which is a crane manufacturing facility in Killarney and a huge employer in Kerry, and Fexco, which is a fantastic success story, as is the Kerry Group. We also have opportunities to expand our tourism industry, particularly into the winter months. In addition, the Shannon LNG project would provide a huge number of jobs if it actually got the go-ahead. I ask again that this project get every possible support from Government to ensure it becomes a reality. I know my colleague, Councillor Jim Finucane, has been a huge advocate of this project on Kerry County Council. I would like to see every effort made in this regard.

There is a huge plant in Killarney sitting empty, the old Pretty Polly plant, in which there is the potential to create jobs. I know Killarney Town Council is working on this and I ask that the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation would liaise with the town council to see what can be done in this regard. It would be a good idea if both the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Perry, visited Kerry to see the good, the bad and the opportunities. They should see the old plants such as the Aetna plant and the Amann plant which have been closed, as well as those which are working well such as Liebherr and Fexco, and also see the potential of the Shannon LNG project and the Pretty Polly plant. That would certainly be a good start and I would like to see it happen.

I take this opportunity to call for a debate in this Chamber before the budget where Deputies from all sides of the House would be given an opportunity to give their proposals and ideas on job creation throughout the country. We need to do more than what is being done at present, with 450,000 people on the live register and so many thousands more abroad who want to come home. Every idea, no matter how ridiculous it may sound in the beginning, needs to be considered in the context of the forthcoming budget to try to bring those people who are abroad home and to try give those who are on the live register at present some hope and an opportunity to reach their full potential in this country.

Deputy James Reilly

It is important to remember that Ireland continues to be competitive in attracting new investment. Over 1,000 multinational corporations have chosen Ireland as their strategic European base. Multinationals currently employ 146,000 people directly and many more indirectly. In spite of the latest CSO figures, the positive impact of the Government's policies on job creation are beginning to show. The year 2011 saw a net increase of 6,000 jobs in IDA-supported companies and a number of major foreign direct investments have been announced so far this year. IDA Ireland has announced the creation of over 1,000 jobs this month alone, including the expansions of the relatively new EA Games facility in Galway and Northern Trust's financial services operation in Limerick.

The immediate outlook for Ireland's foreign direct investment portfolio is positive, with a strong short-term pipeline in place. IDA Ireland is confident of securing further investments, particularly in life sciences, which will include a number of capital intensive investments involving significant construction projects. Enterprise Ireland companies achieved €15.2 billion in exports last year, the highest level ever, and employment in the agency's client companies stabilised in 2011 after 30,000 job losses in the period 2007 to 2010. In 2011, jobs in exporting companies started to grow again for the first time after three years of contraction and the Government is determined to build on this by improving supports like the establishment of a new potential exporters division in that agency. Employment in the tourism sector also increased by 6,300 in the period June 2011 to June 2012, supported in particular by the measures taken in the jobs initiative which lowered VAT rates and halved employer's PRSI on earnings up to €356 per week.

The Government will continue to deliver on its commitments in the action plan for jobs, which will be an annual process setting out clear targets to be delivered each year to support job creation. We hold fast to our parallel ambitions to make Ireland the best small country in the world to do business and to create the environment where the number of people at work will reach 2 million by 2020.

I know my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, is committed to job creation and I will certainly pass on the invitation to visit Kerry to him and to the Minister of State, Deputy Perry. In regard to Shannon LNG, I can assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, has brought up this issue on numerous occasions at Cabinet.

Industrial Relations Issues

Deputy Billy Kelleher

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue in order to clarify exactly what was agreed at the Labour Relations Commission recently. Obviously, we have all been for some time awaiting a conclusion to the discussions that were going on in the background. In recent weeks, the Minister said that, after losing patience with the progress that was being made in terms of the implementation of the 2008 agreement and the discussions under the Croke Park agreement, he referred the matter to the Labour Relations Commission. We then had an announcement that the Minister was pleased with the outcome of the Labour Relations Commission discussions and that agreement had been reached.

Although I am not definite on this, it seems the Irish Hospital Consultants Association and the Irish Medical Organisation have stated they did not actually agree anything and that it would be a matter for consultation and discussion. I am trying to get clarity as to whether an actual agreement has been reached and the IHCA agrees with that agreement or whether the Minister announced something in haste and in advance of the actual agreement being signed off by its members. I say this because an internal document circulated to IHCA members stated there was no agreement yet on proposals for work practice reforms, which is a fundamental issue that was being discussed in terms of the Labour Relations Commission dialogue with regard to rostering, 7-7 discharge and so on.

In addition, the Minister said these work practice changes, the 7-7 discharge and the reduced consultant pay for new entrants would generate savings of about €200 million and that it would be implemented on 1 October. That date is coming quickly upon us and, as I said, it seems to be the case that the IHCA and IMO are first going to circulate this for discussion with their members and they would then consider the Labour Relations Commission recommendations after hearing from their members. There is some confusion as to what exactly is agreed, as opposed to what we might like to think is agreed, in terms of rostering, changes to work practices and so on.

The other issue concerns the level 1 consultant with no private practice, which is a post the Minister talked about establishing, although it seems to have fallen completely off the agenda. This is another key area where we need clarity.

In conclusion, the two issues are, first, what exactly has been agreed and, second, how the Minister has analysed that this will save €200 million in view of the fact we are not quite sure the representative bodies have agreed to the full package of measures the Minister announced and welcomed with a certain amount of fanfare a number of weeks ago after the dialogue with the Labour Relations Commission.

Deputy James Reilly

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Government has confirmed on a number of occasions the unprecedented nature and scale of the financial pressures facing the State. Ongoing reform and increased efficiency in service delivery is essential. It is imperative that consultants, given their role within the health system, lead this process.

The recent discussions with the consultants' representative bodies took place in the context of the public service agreement, better known as the Croke Park agreement. The health sectoral agreement constitutes a key element of that agreement. It emphasises that the required reorganisation of health services and the health service workforce will focus on providing, across all settings, planned services over an extended day, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., on a Monday to Friday basis and/or a five over seven day basis, while also providing emergency services on a 24-hour, seven day basis. This requires achieving a more productive match between staffing and service activity levels while safeguarding quality and clinical performance.

These requirements provided the background to the recent engagement with the consultant representative bodies. Following direct negotiations on proposals put forward by the management side, management referred the proposals to the Labour Relations Commission, LRC, in accordance with the public service agreement. Intensive discussions between health service employers and the two consultant representative bodies commenced on 13 September 2012 at the LRC and concluded on 17 September 2012. These dealt with a range of matters, including measures to ensure that the relevant parts of the health sectoral agreement within the public service agreement 2010-2014 can be given effect. The management team comprised officials from the HSE, my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The outcome of this engagement is that detailed proposals have been agreed between the parties. The key provisions include an agreement that consultants will be available for rostering for any five days out of seven as opposed to weekdays, as at present. Consultants can be rostered, where required, on a 16 hour day basis, that is from 8 a.m to midnight, or on a 24 hour day basis, where this is required. Clinical directors will have a much strengthened management role in respect of consultants. Consultants will co-operate with a range of measures to support improved community and mental health services. Consultants committed to measures that ensure that public patients waiting for elective care of any type are seen within clinically appropriate timeframes. It was agreed that consultants will comply with the contractual requirements regarding private practice. Consultants commit to expeditious processing and signing of claims for submission to private health insurers. There will also be more cost-effective arrangements for funding of continuing medical education.

The agreement also puts on a formal basis consultants' co-operation with a range of productivity flexibilities, which will allow for considerable efficiencies in the use of hospital beds, with the potential to deliver a saving of 220,000 bed days annually. Implementation of the agreement will result in more patients being treated more quickly, more efficiently and with greater consultant input.

Deputy Billy Kelleher

I thank the Minister for his reply. Is he confident that the full range of measures he says have been agreed with the IHCA and the IMO within the terms of the LRC's recommendations will begin to be implemented from 1 October onwards and that savings will start accruing immediately? Another issue of concern, about which I asked some parliamentary questions some time ago, is that of consultants complying with the contractual requirements regarding private practice. The replies I received outlined the fact that there were breaches of such contractual requirements and that the Department would have to move to disciplinary action if the issue was not addressed. Is the Minister satisfied that this agreement, as outlined, will commence on 1 October, as stated, and that action will be taken to ensure that those who are currently in breach of their contractual obligations will comply?

Deputy James Reilly

The proposals agreed with the representative organisations put a range of productivity flexibilities on a formal basis. The organisations have agreed to present the agreed proposals on reforms to their members for consideration. I expect this to be done in a timely manner, having regard to the relevant provisions in the public service agreement.

Separately, new consultants will be appointed at a significantly reduced rate, involving a 30% reduction in salary for future consultant appointees. The relevant pay scales have now issued from my Department for implementation. Management proposals to reduce the rest day arrangements that currently apply and to eliminate the fee to consultant psychiatrists for giving a second opinion under the Mental Health Act 2001, will be referred to the Labour Court, in line with the procedures provided for in the public service agreement. The issue of historic rest days will be referred to the Labour Court, in line with normal procedures.

The proposals which have been agreed between the parties, when implemented, will allow for very significant reforms in how health services are delivered and ultimately will lead to more efficient service delivery and improved outcomes for all users of the services.

Redundancy Payments

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this very important issue. The closure of the hostel project in Tipperary town and the abandonment of the workers has caused heartbreak for the workers themselves and the wider community. The hostel project was a jobs initiative scheme. The workmanship and craftsmanship displayed by the supervisor and the 23 employees was above and beyond all expectations. They completed the refurbishment of a church, as well as 60 other projects throughout Tipperary. Those workers were let go without the benefit of the enhanced redundancy scheme, which was in place in 2007 and was issued in counties such as Donegal and Wexford for other schemes that were closed down. They are entitled to receive the enhanced redundancy payment on top of their statutory redundancy, which they waited for over a year and a half to receive. It is totally unfair and an injustice to the workers who gave so much time and energy to the project.

Pobail and FÁS are conducting investigations into the project, which have been going on for nearly two and a half years. It is time we got some clarity in the matter. The building has become derelict. Vandals are breaking into it and it has been abandoned, for all intents and purposes. Over €4 million was spent on the project, in wages and materials grants. The project was very well supported by various Departments, the local Tipperary Town Council and South Tipperary County Council.

Will the workers received enhanced redundancy, to which they are entitled? When the workers were being let go they were told by FÁS that it was because of misappropriation of FÁS funds but neither the workers nor their supervisor misappropriated any funds. I am not making any allegations as to who did but the workers definitely did not and their names should not be besmirched and should be cleared. I am aware that a Garda investigation is ongoing and I hope it will have a successful conclusion.

This is a travesty of justice. Tipperary town and the wider county has many fabulous community projects, which had enjoyed the support of FÁS, Pobail and many other statutory funders over the years, with excellent results. One such project is being honoured today by a Government Minister, namely the Canon Hayes project in Tipperary town. It is a pity that the hostel project has left such a sour taste in the town. Five of the directors resigned from the board and the chairman, before he resigned, made complaints to the Garda about his name being on claims documents that he had not signed. It was accepted that the signatures on the documents were not his. This is a very sad situation where money has been misappropriated. The workers and the board members who resigned should not have to carry the can here. Their names should be cleared.

I appeal to the Minister to ensure that the investigations by Pobail and FÁS are concluded without further delay and the findings released. If there are charges to be brought by An Garda Síochána, let them be brought. At least then there would be an end to the rumours, speculation and innuendo which are unfair, in particular, on the workers. They completed this project in a spectacular fashion. The church really is something to behold. It is a real treasure, as are the rooms in the hostel that they had finished. The hostel is now lying abandoned, even though it is nine tenths finished. The gates are locked but unfortunately, weather and vandals are wreaking havoc on it. Above all the workers have been cast off, some of them into early retirement, in an unfair fashion. They have been mistreated. Indeed, they continue to be mistreated because the supervisor has not received his full redundancy payment, despite having an agreement with FÁS.

The workers are entitled to enhanced redundancy. I appeal to the Minister, although I accept he is not the Minister responsible, to have the situation investigated thoroughly because it is a blight on all community employment groups, of which there are many in Tipperary town and district. It is not fair that the good name of the people of Tipperary or the good workers or supervisors involved would be besmirched in this manner.

Deputy James Reilly

I am responding to this matter on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton. I thank Deputy Mattie McGrath for raising the issue. The job initiative, JI, programme provides full-time employment to those who are long-term unemployed over the age of 35 years. In 2004, a Government decision was made to allow participants on the job initiative programme to remain on it until retirement age. There are currently 1,256 JI participants with a budget for the programme in excess of €27 million.

The Tipperary Hostel was an independent company whose day-to-day operations were overseen by a board of management. The project involved the restoration of a former workhouse in Tipperary town with the aim of housing a 30-room budget accommodation hostel. At time of closing, the project employed 21 participants including a supervisor under the job initiative. The project had been running from 1999 to 2010 with labour being provided by the job initiative programme and capital costs being funded by the county council, the Heritage Council and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht was withdrawn in April 2010 after accountants from Tipperary Hostel Limited failed to sign the accounts and it came to light that funds were overdrawn. Pobal, on behalf of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, conducted an audit that found serious shortcomings and suspended its funding.

With the closure of the project, FÁS offered each JI participant on the scheme alternative employment with other community employers in Tipperary, including the retention of accumulated service and pay. These positions were approved by FÁS, were additional to existing positions and would not have displaced jobs of existing workers. Only one person took up the offer. The remaining 20 followed the advice of SIPTU and pursued a claim for redundancy. On 7 December 2011 this matter was heard before the Employment Appeals Tribunal, EAT, with 22 appellants seeking redundancy. The Employment Appeals Tribunal upheld that 20 of the 22 appellants were entitled to statutory redundancy from their employer, Tipperary Hostel Limited. The redundancy payments have now been made to the 20 individuals by the redundancy section of the Department of Social Protection.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

What the Minister stated is correct but one part is inaccurate. At the time, savage cutbacks were being made to community employment projects in Tipperary and numbers had to be reduced. We were told we had the highest number of people working on community employment schemes in the south east. If staff had taken up the job offers on other schemes they would have been displacing existing colleagues on those schemes due to the significant number of people being laid off.

The Minister indicated that Pobal investigated the situation and suspended funding. Those involved cannot be left high and dry with innuendo and bad feeling. The situation must be sorted out. Where there was wrongdoing it must be outed and there must be proper and fair treatment. The Labour Court upheld the claims of FÁS workers for enhanced redundancy who were employed on community employment projects in Wexford and Donegal. That is all the workers seek, in addition to having their names cleared, which is equally if not more important. It is not true to say they were offered jobs additional to existing positions because they would have been displacing existing employees. I was involved at the time. The workers involved had carried out dedicated, skilful work on many projects. They had made the homes of many people safer and ensured they had better living conditions. It is not good enough that this is all the thanks they get.

Deputy James Reilly

In these tough times nobody wants to see anybody lose their job. However, on behalf of the Department I must point out a number of facts. Tipperary Hostel Limited was the employer. All the JI participants were offered similar, alternative positions with the same terms and conditions. No one was made redundant. Only one of the JI participants opted to continue on the programme. The redundancy paid was only statutory redundancy, but the JI participants can now seek enhanced redundancy similar to that available to other community employment workers. All payments of enhanced redundancy to employees on job initiative or other programmes reduces the amount of funding available for the programme and thus leads to a reduction in the overall number of participants. Currently, there are 1,256 participants on the jobs initiative programme.