Community employment supervisors
Senator Craughwell backed the supervisors, saying the Labour Court deal had been ignored and urging the Minister to meet them. He then broadened the complaint to Defence Forces funding and asked about the Minister for Transport’s remarks on stepping back in.
There are 950 CE schemes around the country, 22,000 trainees and 1,250 supervisors who have been treated in the most appalling way. In 2005, there was an enhanced redundancy deal offered and accepted through a Labour Court agreement, which would have given the retiring supervisors statutory redundancy plus 3.35 weeks. What have we done with it? Nothing. Where are we with them? Nowhere. It is somewhat ironic to hear the Government side talk about the irony of what is going on here with the supervisors.
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The Senator does not have a monopoly on it.
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The Minister should meet these people. The Minister-----
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The Minister is obliged to meet these people and fobbing them off is simply not good enough. There is a forum in place under the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, there is a chairman to that forum and that chairman should at least be available to them. I ask the Deputy Leader to ensure that the chairman contacts the union responsible for the CE supervisors to ensure that a meeting takes place.
I often speak on the Defence Forces. Some €92 million was returned to the Exchequer while soldiers cannot live. Next week we will see soldiers parade in O'Connell Street and we will all talk of our pride in our Defence Forces. Pride? We could not care less about them. We are allowing them to live in poverty so there is no pride in our Defence Forces and there is no respect for our Defence Forces. Giving back money at a time when people cannot afford to live on the miserable pittance they are paid is no respect for anybody in uniform. I wonder how we would feel if we finish up having to protect our borders again in this country. I wonder how we feel every time one of our soldiers, airmen or naval personnel is killed while serving overseas. The Irish Defence Forces have given an honourable and distinguished service to this country and what do we give them in return? Nothing. The Public Service Pay Commission is soon due to report and I sincerely hope it gives the Defence Forces the respect that countless Governments have failed to give them.
I would love somebody to explain to me what it means when a chief executive officer, CEO, or a vice president or whatever name was given to the man in the FAI steps aside. What does that mean precisely?