Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
509. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Health the projected cost of providing additional funding to section 39 organisations to provide pay increases in line with the public service pay deal; the breakdown by each organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38331/22]
View answerFirstly, I would like to acknowledge the important role played by those working in Section 39 organisations around the country.
Under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE provides financial assistance to organisations to provide services similar or supplementary to a service that the HSE may provide. However, Section 39 organisations are privately owned and run, and staff in these organisations are not public servants. Their terms and conditions of employment, once in line with employment legislation, are strictly between the employer and the employee.
Certain Section 39 organisations have achieved pay restoration in recent years. An agreement was reached at the WRC in October 2018, in relation to a process of pay restoration for staff employed by 50 agencies only. Pay restoration commenced in April 2019 with an annual pay increase of up to €1,000. Any outstanding balance was paid in 2020 and 2021. A further WRC engagement followed in December 2020 in relation to a final phase of 250 organisations who were identified as part of the earlier agreement. A payment arrangement consisting of three phases was agreed with the first two payments to be made in 2021, and the third and final payment due to be made in 2023.
I am unable to advise you of projected costs for providing additional funding to Section 39 organisations. The previous pay restoration is absolutely limited and only applicable to those included in the initial WRC agreement. There is no scope to revisit the eligibility criteria for the process and that process has reached a final resolution.
