Public Sector Pay
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Norma Foley (FF), Kerry

I reiterate that the agreements reached in recent years, including the 9.25% increase and the 8% increase in 2023, are a 17.25% increase over a three-and-a-half year period. This is significant. As always, the Government's priority is to protect vital services for those who rely on them while ensuring sustainable employment for the dedicated workers who provide quality supports and services. The phased increases recognise that staff should be fairly paid for the difficult work they do. Notably, the ability of organisations to actively recruit and retain staff has also improved as a result of these funding agreements.
To respond to Deputy Cooney's point, as part of the agreement a comprehensive data-gathering exercise is being conducted on pay and funding arrangements in the sector. This exercise is crucial in order to create a shared understanding of the sector.
The outcome of the exercise will inform targeted measures on the low pay issues that affect the long-term sustainability of services and it is expected that this work will be finalised shortly. These arrangements relate to services funded through statutory grant aid arrangements, funding for services commissioned through tendering arrangements, which is not covered-----

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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