Community Training Centres
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Jen Cummins (SD), Dublin South-Central

I am pleading with whoever is making the decision. I have been told several times that the Department is not their employer. Notwithstanding that, as a member of the board of management of one CTC, I have to say we can only pay the staff on the scales that are provided and those scales are provided by the Department. A bit of guidance and some moving of the scales and terms and conditions for staff members would be fantastic.
As the Minister rightly said, there are vulnerable learners and they present as they present, are taken as they are and really thrive. However, that is because of the skill and dedication of the staff members. We have to do everything we can to ensure they have appropriate pay scales and there is a parity of esteem for all staff members, whether it is in Youthreach, the CTCs or the LTIs. There are a lot of initials there. The most important thing is that there is equality and equity among staff members to ensure they do not leave because without those skilled workers, the students will suffer, will not be able to progress and will not have the bright future they deserve.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23