Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 10 May 2001

Vol. 536 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Child Care Workers.

Mr. Sargent

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit teacht isteach chun an cheist seo a fhreagairt.

The decision by the Government to increase the pay for some child care workers is a very welcome and long overdue development. I understand the increases to range between 19% and 27%, and up to 44.8%, for those who were most badly paid in the past. It is the largest percentage increase yet negotiated under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. This should help attract new people into the area of child care. It will go some way in redressing what has been a very poor rate of pay. According to the Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies, residential child care workers may work up to 64 hours in a week and be paid only £2 per hour for 16 of those hours. Many of us, especially those familiar with places such as Oberstown, Trinity House and the many health board premises in Dublin, are well aware of the difficult and stressful conditions that many of the child care workers have to operate in. Better all-round employment conditions will hopefully help to recruit and retain residential child care staff.

Last March, Mr. Justice Peter Kelly – who has played a tremendous role in highlighting the child care crisis in our health services – said he was profoundly disturbed to discover 50 children had been placed in accommodation run by a private security company because of the lack of health board personnel. A particular concern has been raised about how all encompassing these new changes will be. Will the new changes be extended to residential child care staff working with those with intellectual disabilities? I understand a letter from the IMPACT trade union was sent to the Minister for Health and Children early in April, seeking clarification on this point among others, and a response has not been received other than a standard acknowledgment.

Heretofore there were similar grades in these two main areas with the same qualifications and particulars of office. The new arrangements will abolish the house parent and assistant house parent grades, replacing them with two new grades of child care worker and child care leader. It would appear to be completely untenable to have two different regimes in the two services with different rates of pay. The result of this would be to drain workers away from the area of dealing with those with intellectual disabilities to the higher paying sections of residential child care. This would effectively be robbing Peter to care for Paul.

Will the Minister state precisely what the new arrangements will be for the workers in the entire residential child care area and clarify whether there will be a similar regime for all workers, or a divided system with one set of grades and pay for some child care workers and another set for those who work with the intellectually disabled? In considering these concerns of care workers I ask that a practice of paying increments to child care workers promptly be established. A tendency to delay payments of increments has developed. For example, an increase in the sleep-over allowance was granted more than a year ago but some child care workers are still waiting those increments. Others have been overpaid and are now obliged to repay their health board this difference.

The Minister might also carry out an assessment of the resources available to the salary sections of each health board. If extra staff are needed for payment offices let them be appointed so that when this inconsistency in relation to different rates of pay is resolved all staff will be paid a proper and equitable wage, and paid promptly.

Dr. Moffatt

I am grateful to the Deputy for raising this issue and I am glad of the opportunity to clarify the situation for the Deputy.

I wish to give the Deputy the background to the situation which led to the recent pay increase for child care workers. Following a Labour Court recommendation in 1997 an expert group was established to deal with a range of issues affecting a number of health and social care professions.

The expert group published a report in April 2000 which recommended that a joint committee representing employers and trade unions be established to deal with child care workers. The following are the recommended terms of reference for that committee: the setting up of a proper career structure for both the residential and community child care workers; the changes required in general management of child and family services and in case management arising as a consequence; the management of changes arising from the ending of recruitment of unqualified child care workers; a complete review of the training available to child care workers, with a view to the introduction of a nationally recognised professional qualification and the provision of regular in-service training; the arrangements for training of unqualified staff to an acceptable standard. The committee has begun its work on the implementation of these recommendations which will do much to improve the attractiveness of a career in child care services.

Employers have been experiencing difficulties in recruiting and retaining workers in the child care area. Low pay in the area has been stated by many to be contributing to these difficulties.

The issue of unqualified staff working in the child care area has been highlighted in many arenas and acknowledged by all to be unsatisfactory. Those dealing with the most vulnerable must be trained to a recognised professional standard.

All of these issues are being addressed by this joint committee. The first step in resolving the difficulties was the establishment of a new career structure for those working within child care. This new structure has resulted in the ceasing of the recruitment of unqualified staff, with the exception of those at trainee level. Arrangements will also be put in place to facilitate all those working without a formal qualification to up-skill themselves. Coupled with these developments was the introduction of a revised pay scale for those working in the child care area.

I am confident these developments are the first of a series that will deal with the difficulties being experienced by those employed in the child care area.

I have been informed by the trade union IMPACT that it wishes to have the revised pay arrangements paid to house parents and assistant house parents working with other care groups. This will be the subject of early discussions between IMPACT and officials of my Department and the Health Services Employers Agency and I am sure a response will issue in the near future, pending the outcome of their discussions on the matter.

I also note the Deputy's point about incremental payments and salary problems.