Richard Boyd Barrett Condemns Government Over Section 39 Workers' Pay

Contempt, arrogance, sleeving politics, speaking out of both sides of your mouth. That's what was on display at the Dáil Reform Committee on the part of the Government last night. And why is that important? You see, it's not just contempt and arrogance and speaking out of both sides of your mouth that's a problem for the Opposition but it is the mask slipping on a more general approach of the Government which is about arrogance, contempt and speaking out of both sides of your mouth on precisely the issues that we are trying to represent to you in here about the failure of your Government to address the problems faced by ordinary people. The contempt we saw on display last night mirrored the contempt and arrogance you displayed when you confronted a Section 39 worker in Cork during the election campaign and were called out on it. And it goes on because despite your pleadings afterwards when you are shamefaced by Charlotte Fallon about the despicable, arrogant, contemptuous treatment of Section 39 workers who look after people with dementia, with Parkinson's disease, who have suffered from strokes, with other disabilities, other vulnerable people, you continue to show that contempt such that those workers, thousands of them, low paid workers, have now had to ballot for industrial action because despite your squealings during the election you still have not done right by those workers, low paid workers. I was talking to one of them today, who by the way has written to all of you individually, all the ministers, who works out in Ballymun, a Section 39 worker who's been working for years looking after the most vulnerable in our society, is on a miserable 15 euro an hour, many of his colleagues are on 13 euro an hour, they suffer two pay cuts during the austerity period which are never restored, he's got about a one euro an hour pay increase over a period of 10 years but still earning just above minimum wage and he doesn't enjoy parity with other people doing exactly the same job who are directly employed by the HSE. And the government says oh we're going to do right by you, you said oh well yes I heard what Charlotte Fallon's saying but still you go into the WRC or sometimes as Noel told me you don't bother going into the WRC to give a firm commitment that there will be pay restoration and pay parity for Section 39 workers, the pay increases that they should have got over the last 10 years to address the cost of living, are you going to give that commitment to Section 39 workers or will you show the content, the arrogance and the sleeving politics that were on display last night? Thank you Deputy, it's for the Tánishta now to respond. Tánishta. Thanks so much Kean Córla. So firstly on the issue of speaking rights, I was just trying to work it out here and my numbers may be off so correct me Kean Córla if they are, but in a leader's question slot, somebody gets three minutes to ask the question, three minutes to respond, a minute to ask a follow up and another minute to respond. So we are having a row here about eight minutes twice a week. Eight minutes twice a week where we believe that government backbench TDs and independent TDs who are not ministers and are unaligned should be allowed to ask a question on behalf of their constituents. That's it, that's what you are having a row about. And then when it comes to priority questions when it comes to priority, you don't lose a minute. So to all of these people at home, Deputy Boyd Barrett can address it, Deputy Boyd Barrett can address it. To people at home watching this who are busy with their actual lives and the real issues that matter to them, they are going, what is this row about in the dog? Well, what it is not about, Kean Córla, because in my experience the Opposition does not have any challenge speaking, including speaking over me, because what this is actually about is not taking a minute to speak in time off Sinn Féin, not taking a minute to speak in time off people above profit, not taking a minute to speak in time off Labour, not taking a minute to speak in time off social democrats or independent Ireland or anybody they have left out, but actually saying twice a week, eight minutes, eight minutes, will allow people who have got democratically elected, thousands of votes stand up on behalf of their constituents and ask a couple of questions. I think that's perfectly reasonable. I want to talk specifically about... Let's have nobody speaking over anybody. That's the truth. And you see, that's the truth. But you see, the truth is, you see it in hearing leaders' questions, you don't want any of us over here to be able to speak. There's this new tactic since the Dáil has come back, studs up, shout him down, put up the video on Twitter, misrepresent the position. We're not going to take it anymore. I'm going to speak on behalf of my democratic candidate as well. And I love the fact that Louise O'Reilly thinks everything is so hilarious. But I don't think it's hilarious. I don't think it's hilarious, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, that you're continuing to misrepresent people in the air having a chance to ask a question, because people who got elected in your constituency, who support the government, have every right as well. On the second part of your question in relation to Section 39 workers, let me agree with you that these individuals do incredibly important work in our health services, our disability services, and our social care services. Let me also agree with you that we need to address the issue of pay, and we need to do it with urgency. That's why this week, my Cabinet colleagues, Minister Norma Foley, Minister Hildegard and Ochten, updated Cabinet on this matter. The next step here is to get people back into the WRC, and I want workers to know that talks are scheduled to resume on Monday, the 3rd of March, and I want to see them brought to a successful conclusion. Because it's absolutely in the interest of workers, of course it is, as articulately put forward by Charlotte, it's also in the interest of service users, because there are people with a disability who need to make sure we can properly staff these organisations, and the Government is fully commissioned to make progress. The point is, people who are part of the Government will never really ask the hard questions, and call you out. Call you out. You see, Noel, the Section 39 worker I was talking to says, he's going to mention the WRC. He's going to mention the WRC. And he's going to say, we've been to the WRC, and sometimes the Government don't even bother to talk, to turn up. And he said, it's a stalling tactic. He said, I guarantee you, Simon Harris says WRC. They don't want WRC, they want a commitment for pay restoration. Give the commitment, pay parity. So that we don't have people doing the same job, being paid different rates, because one of them happens to be outsourced to a Section 39 charity, looking after the most vulnerable in our society. Delirious Home Care is closing tomorrow, because you are outsourcing the home care to people with dementia, vulnerable people to a charity, which can collapse. Because you do not care about the service users and you do not care about the workers. Thank you Deputy Byeran, two quarters. Dave Thank you. Now give the Tarnishter time to answer the question. I must be exhausted by shouting at me, I am listening to you very clearly here. The reality is that I am hearing and listening, please listen back. I said very clearly that we are going to go to the WRC, and yes, I am going to say the WRC. As your constituent would know, and as everybody around this country knows, that is where we sort pay issues. We do not throw them shouting and roaring at each other, we sort them through the established industrial relations mechanism of this country. If the Government sets the mandate for that, I have already told you, and much more importantly to all people at home, that the Cabinet was updated on this this week, and that the talks in Cawola are going to progress at the WRC on Monday. In relation – sorry, that is a commitment, a very clear commitment, a very clear commitment to make progress. Now, Deputy Boyd Barrett, you let the mask slip here, we are talking about masks slipping. You believe your question and the veracity of your question is better than all of their questions and more valuable, and it is not. You are definitely a passionate contributor, but everybody, Government and Opposition, this is a parliamentary democracy, have a right to put their questions, and I am going to vindicate the right of my party colleagues.