Public Sector Pay
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Joe Cooney (FG), Clare

Section 39 workers have been left behind. After the crash their pay was cut in line with the public service but it has never been restored in the same way. It has taken over a decade, with the Labour Court and threatened strike action, to begin to close the gap. We are still not there. Even the agreement reached in 2023 was not fully honoured because the funding released to the section 39 organisations did not cover the full cost to employers, including pension and PRSI contributions. Small providers without reserves or fundraising capacity could well be pushed towards cutting services rather than staff. Funding levels for section 39 organisations must cover the full cost of employees' salary increases as well as their pensions and PRSI costs. Has this been raised by the Minister and the Department in the current budget discussions?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17