Disability Federation Ireland expressed concern today around 17 October, when section 39 workers have been forced to take industrial action and the impact this would have on the essential services they provide. I thank all the people who travelled from Mayo today to get their message across around poverty and disability and the impact of them. In particular, I was really struck by the fact they said that on 17 October we cannot have people lying in bed not able to get up. There are thousands of section 39 organisations throughout the State that will be impacted, many of them in Mayo. Despite the vital role they play, the HSE has confirmed to me that it does not even know how many people work in this hugely important sector. We know what needs to be done. They deserve the pay and conditions they would get in the public sector and they need to be included.

I accept what the Deputy is saying in respect of the challenges facing section 39 organisations. There were discussions between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the unions involved. We urge that those engagements would be restored and that we would have talks on this, and that the necessity for action on 17 October would be avoided. We do not want any distress caused to people who depend on these services daily. We would like to get these issues resolved and get into a process to get it resolved once and for all and on a sustainable basis.