On 9 February 2018, an agreement was reached between my Department, the HSE and health sector trade unions in relation to a process aimed at resolving the pay restoration issue for staff employed by section 39 bodies. The HSE are to carry out an analysis to establish, with supporting evidence, the following:
- Whether, when and to what extent reductions in pay rates were applied during the crisis in each relevant organisation;
- Whether, when and to what extent restoration of pay reductions has happened;
- Identify the financial implications for each organisation, taking account of all sources of funding, associated with addressing the issues identified and propose an appropriate plan for phased resolution in each case.
The HSE has issued detailed questionnaires to an agreed list of organisations. An interim report is expected from the HSE in the coming weeks. As this exercise is being carried out in an administrative capacity, there is no statutory requirement to lay the final report from the review before the Houses of the Oireachtas.