Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

The Minister covered a lot of ground in his reply. He might be surprised to learn that I agree with him on much of what he said.

One issue on which I always need to be convinced is whether the national pay agreements have added to the democratic process. They were introduced at a particular time when financial rectitude and discipline were very necessary. What is agreed between the Government and parties outside this House in areas such as taxation, social welfare and other areas of social policy is brought back for rubber-stamping. Effectively, the House does not make the final decisions. As a democrat, I am never truly comfortable with that situation.

I refer to the issue of amending schemes and will disguise the story somewhat. During my time in the Department of Agriculture and Food, because of EU regulations it was no longer possible to issue a permit to a certain person to continue commercial operations. The local representatives of the Department affirmed the quality of the product. People came from miles around to avail of it. The person concerned went out of business, to the best of my knowledge. It made a lasting impression on me. If we are too prescriptive in what we do, we limit our ability to do what is desirable.

A group under the auspices of the Department of Finance is examining the conditions for disabled drivers and passengers. Every Deputy will know from their contacts with disabled constituents of the great need for improvement.

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