2026-02-17

I completely agree with Deputy Ward as regards his frustration. The last time I raised this issue, a different Minister was present. However, I believe the Minister of State has responsibility it, which is a happy coincidence. The issue in question is section 39 workers. About 50 Northside Home Care Services workers engaged in industrial action during January. They are going to be outside Leinster House at 10 a.m. tomorrow. They have been involved in industrial action because they were reclassified as section 39 workers as a result of a WRC agreement between ICTU, employers and the relevant Departments. This agreement gave other section 39 workers who are healthcare workers and who do the same work as the Northside Home Care Services employees a pay rise. However, the Northside Home Care Services workers did not get a pay rise as a result of a difference that I will explain. The difference is that because their employer is a private company and had to tender for the work as opposed to another company getting a grant, they are treated differently in employment law. We have always had a principle of equal pay for equal work. The healthcare workers who work for the HSE do exactly the same work as those who work for Northside Home Care Services. What has happened to these workers is completely unjust. They have been left out on a limb and forced to leave the vulnerable people they look after in order to take industrial action. It is really unfortunate. I ask the Minister of State to intervene and possibly meet the workers tomorrow morning when they are outside the gates of the House.

I thank Deputy Brabazon for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. At the outset, I would like to recognise the vital contribution that healthcare assistants make to our health system. These staff play an essential role in delivering supports to people with disabilities and to older persons in our communities right across the country. It is important to note that the community and voluntary organisations providing many of the home support services in our communities are independently operated entities. Accordingly, the employment terms and conditions of their staff, provided they comply with general employment law, remain a matter strictly between the employer and employee. As the Deputy will be aware, an agreement on pay and conditions was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, on 10 March 2025 between ICTU and the relevant Departments. This agreement provided funding to health and social care and the homeless sector employers to deliver a 9.25% pay increase, in line with the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026. This agreement applies to organisations funded under section 39 of the Health Act 2004, section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 and section 40 of the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Act 2023. These organisations operate in the community and voluntary sector and are not public bodies. Only bodies falling within these funding categories were included in the scope of the agreement. I am aware, however, that many healthcare assistants work in home care services delivered and funded through a competitive tendering process. This is a different mechanism of funding to section 39 service and, as such, they are not covered by the WRC agreement. Services commissioned through tender processes are governed by separate contractual arrangements with providers and any matters relating to these can be addressed through existing procurement frameworks. These organisations are not public bodies and the terms and conditions of employment of these staff, once in line with employment legislation, are strictly between the employer and employee. The HSE authorisation scheme for the provision of home support services is the formal tendering mechanism the HSE uses to approve and contract providers that are eligible to deliver State-funded home support. Only providers admitted to this scheme can receive HSE funding for hours allocated to clients. For clarity, the Minister for Health does not have an operational role in individual staffing matters. These responsibilities rest with employers, which are legally established separate entities. The Minister’s functions concern national policy, legislation, budgetary allocations and oversight of the health system as a whole. The matter the Deputy raised concerned a general point. Some funding for the service comes under section 39, as the Deputy is probably aware, and other funding comes via the HSE authorisation scheme. The HSE engaged with Northside Home Care Services on the issue at the time. Ultimately, however, the relationship is between the employer and employee under the HSE authorisation scheme.

Unfortunately, I do not think the reply will give much solace to the workers who will stand outside in the cold in the morning. The reality is that because of the way the cards have fallen and the agreement before the WRC, through sleight of hand we now have a State-sponsored discrimination between one set of workers who do exactly the same work as another. Even though they are employed by somebody else or are employed in a different way, both are funded by the taxpayer. That is the bottom line. Northside Home Care Services is a charitable organisation that gets all of its funding from the State. There is no reason on this earth why one healthcare worker helping the elderly in Dublin 5 should be paid or treated differently to another.

I again thank Deputy Brabazon for raising this matter. As I stated, I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I want to acknowledge the great work healthcare assistants do. I also acknowledge the work of the great staff in Northside Home Care Services and the huge contribution they make. As I stated, there are different mechanisms by which organisations are funded by the State. The WRC agreement was reached with ICTU unions at the time. They are grant aided under section 39, section 56, section 10 and section 40 arrangements. Services commissioned through competitive tender process such as the HSE authorisation scheme operate under separate contractual agreements with individuals and providers. Any matters relating to these can be addressed through existing procurement frameworks. As I said, these organisations are not public bodies. While they may receive funding from the State to deliver certain services, the terms and conditions of the employment of their staff, once in line with employment law, are strictly between the employer and employee. There was engagement between the HSE and the service. It is up to Northside Home Care Services to interact with staff as the employer. I understand funding came through the authorisation scheme and section 39. There is obviously detail involved. I want to acknowledge the great work done by staff.

Before we continue, I would like to recognise Brendan and Maura Neal, and Maura's children, from Springfield, Massachusetts. They are here with Deputy James O'Connor. They are the son, daughter and grandchildren of Representative Richard Neal, who is known to many in the House.