Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

As one who has broadly supported social partnership for a long time going back to the 1970s, although not to the exclusion of the terms of any particular social contract emerging, am I correct in taking a pessimistic note from what the Taoiseach has said about the prospects for a new social contract? Am I right in thinking he is distancing himself from the talks and pointing out that the Secretary General is chairing them is an especially bad omen since, if there was the prospect of success, the Taoiseach would be in the middle of it working all night to bring the parties together? Am I right in taking the view that the Taoiseach believes the prospect for progress is not promising? These talks had an original completion target of 17 March. When does the Taoiseach believe the talks might conclude?

In the Taoiseach's role of employer, is it the intention of Government to put some proposals on the table in the matter of pensions, which is a growing issue of considerable concern in particular to great swathes of private sector workers? Does the Government intend to make some tangible proposals in that regard?

I raised the issue of job displacement and protection of living standards at the beginning of the year. While it was not supposed to be an issue at all, it has taken up 84 days of the discussion so far. Are proposals to alleviate this phenomenon that are focused on the construction sector likely to emerge in the near future?

Does the Taoiseach not consider it a failure of social partnership that the employer at the sugar company in Mallow, Greencore, is trying to sidle out of its commitment on redundancy payments to the workforce at Mallow? Given what has happened there, this would be disgraceful. Does the Government intend to intervene to cause Greencore to behave like a proper corporate citizen and to observe the correct interpretation of the Labour Court recommendation in that regard?

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