Education and Training Provision
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-24
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Alan Dillon (FG), Mayo

I welcome the opportunity to address this important issue. I thank Senator Cosgrove for raising it. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education Research, Innovation and Science. I want to begin by acknowledging the vital work carried out by the staff in our community training centres. These staff play a critical role in respect of some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities, including early school leavers and those at risk of disengagement from education. I have visited many of the centres across Mayo, and their contribution is very much recognised, valued and deeply appreciated.
It is important to set out the context. Community training centres are independent, non-profit organisations that are grant funded by education and training boards. They operate with their own boards of directors as employers. The Department is not the direct employer of staff in the CTCs, and pay matters arise within the employer-employee relationship. I am aware that there is an ongoing pay dispute, which is something the Government regrets. SIPTU is seeking a 9.25% pay increase which aligns with the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, agreement relating to section 39 organisations. While the Department, through SOLAS, has supported an offer of 7%, following budget 2026, with funding ring-fenced for that purpose, agreement has not yet been reached and members have been balloted for industrial action. The Department and the Government have engaged extensively with stakeholders, including IACTO, as their employer body, SOLAS, as their funder, and SIPTU representatives. It is important that matters progress through the industrial relations machinery of the State and, specifically, the WRC, with conciliation under way.
The Senator raising the issue here today is import and timely. The Government strongly supports reaching a resolution through the established industrial relations mechanism. We hope the issue will be resolved in a swift manner.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24