Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

I like what the Minister is doing in implementing a Government commitment made in the budget, on which most of us are agreed. There is an impression given that certain politicians are siding with the wealthy, but we are not. I agree with the Minister that this is outrageous. There was a battle at our parliamentary party meeting before Christmas to secure some movement on high pay and salary levels. My party fully supports the Minister's policies. I suggest he do it right and legally. This argument that one should wait until they sue is not acceptable because the Minister does not want to go to court to lose a case. However, there are legal ways to tackle this issue in the case of existing staff. I compliment the Government in this regard. In my amendment I propose that this be one of the Minister's specific functions, while the second part of the amendment relates to a commitment given in the programme for Government. It is a very important commitment, and I remind the Minister that the Tory party in England has successfully done it, even though it has taken them one year to do so. It is a proposal in the interests of transparency and openness and also achieving ivalue for money. If all purchase orders were available on-line for the public to see, it would allow anyone to suggest to the Department that a service could be procured at a lower rate or that there was an alternative product available.