Deputy Steven S. Donnelly:

While I understand the Minister's difficult position, it is unreasonable to put it to this committee that the expenditure must be voted on so that services can continue. We are nearly one third of the way through this year and we are now considering expenditure, almost one third of which has, presumably, been incurred. While I may be wrong, I believe Ireland is the only country in the OECD that examines and agrees expenditure one third of the way through. The analysis I have seen suggests we are on our own and in many other countries as in most companies, as I am sure the Minister will appreciate, the expenditure gets agreed before the start of the year.

I am not grandstanding or simply engaging in politics but I honestly believe that to proceed with this in light of the rejection of Croke Park II would be taken as an insult to many of the approximately 300,000 public sector workers. Therefore, I ask that this discussion be postponed, hopefully for a short amount of time. I would welcome a discussion by this committee of how the €300 million could be found. I believe the premise of Croke Park II is incorrect and that the money, or certainly a chunk of it, could be found through non-pay sources. I ask the Chairman, the Minister and my colleagues on the committee to postpone this meeting, because I believe it will be seen as a kick in the teeth by many of the 300,000 public sector workers in the context of Croke Park II.