Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan has called on the government to listen to the plight of the CE Supervisors for a pay increase – after 14 years of being ignored. 

Speaking in the Seanad today, Senator Gavan says:

“This morning I met with a group of CE Supervisors who had taken the time to come in and meet with the Sinn Féin Leinster House team.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have refused to give any pay increase to these workers for 14 years. 

“The starting rate of pay for an Assistant CE Supervisor is €11.01 which actually works out to be less than the minimum wage come the beginning of next year.

“When you think of the crucial roles that these workers play in our communities; they are people who work in services such as Meals on Wheels, The Irish Wheelchair Association, Enable Ireland, Community Childcare, our Hospices, Hospitals and much more.

“During Covid, Meals on Wheels tripled their output to ensure the most vulnerable people in our communities got a decent hot meal – the government were happy to applaud these workers – but still refuse to give them the pay they deserve.”

“Government after government have continued to say that they are not the employer but the reality is these schemes depend of government funding and the only possible route to raising pay is through an increased government allocation.”

“It is a political choice, consistently made by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, to deny these vital workers a pay rise.”

“This is a solvable issue. There needs to be a recognition of the work involved in the CE Supervisor roles and the political will to make pay increases happen.”