Last week I referred to the Threshold report and the issue of rising rents. Today we read that rents in Dublin, up to September 2017, had risen by over 11%. In my city of Limerick they have risen by 10.5%. It is frightening because the report shows that rents in Dublin city centre can be anything up to €1,800 per month. In many other cities they can be €1,100 or €1,200 per month. There is a need for a cap. Rent caps and rent pressure areas have been highlighted by the Minister, but he needs to come into the House to address the issue.

The other matter I would like to raise, following on from Senator Reilly, is the signing with the European Investment Bank in Limerick on Thursday of €85 million that we are borrowing from it in the form of a low-interest loan. This will help towards the economic development of the city. It is the official signing of the contract for the so-called opera centre site in Limerick where we will have businesses and office spaces. The student population is also moving into the city centre in the form of faculties from both the University of Limerick and the Limerick Institute of Technology. I also welcome the European Investment Bank to both Limerick and Ireland, especially on Thursday next when the contract will be signed in Limerick for what one might call this partnership between Limerick City and County Council and the European Investment Bank. I would encourage, as Senator Reilly has, many of the other local authorities to look at these low-interest loans and partnerships with the European Investment Bank.

Today, I raise the issue of section 39 workers. There are 10,000 of these workers working in our hospices, in the community hospitals and in the Rehab facilities. Some one-in-ten workers in the intellectual disability sector are section 39 workers. They do exactly the same work as HSE workers but they are paid less. They are paid less because in 2010 Fianna Fáil when in government cut their wages and since then they have been ignored. Whereas HSE workers have rightly been winning pay restoration, section 39 workers have not. The 8% pay cut that was imposed on them is still in place. As a result - I must declare an interest in that I represented a number of these workers in St. Anne's in Roscrea and the Daughters of Charity in Limerick - these workers are now voting with their feet; they are leaving. They are people who work in incredibly challenging situations with some of the most vulnerable people in society and do an amazing job. They go above and beyond the call of duty.

What is disgraceful is this Government line that they are not directly employed by it. They were not directly employed in 2010 when their pay was cut. That is not an excuse. There are 10,000 of these workers across the State. SIPTU representatives met the Minister of State at the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Finian McGrath, who told them he would lobby at Cabinet level. That tells us that the Cabinet is refusing what it must do, which is to restore pay and fairness for these workers because they do exactly the same work as their colleagues. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate as a matter of urgency with the Minister of State. I also ask the Leader his own view. I would like him to state clearly for the record that these workers should get their pay restoration without any further delay.