Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

We have had social partnership for over two decades and I have advocated it for all those years. I am delighted we have concluded a social partnership agreement, entitled Toward 2016, which will help us on our way forward. I generally agree with the concept of social partnership in that it allows us to plan for the long-term and permits companies to know their costs well in advance. A number of issues must be addressed, however, if the agreement is to receive universal acceptance, which it has not received. When it comes to voting on the agreement, I believe it will be quite a tight vote. We must address the issues of house price inflation and the amount the Government takes in stamp duty. We must also examine the faults in our health service, in addition to energy costs for consumers, which include a State take in excise duties.

The sum of 10% over 27 months sounds good but many people on lower incomes are left further behind after each national wage agreement. We must address that problem by expanding the back-to-work scheme, child care services and medical cards. We must take these matters on board if we are to take this group of people along with us.

A number of workers' rights have been stitched into the social partnership agreement, including term time and parental leave. These are all welcome developments but they often come at a cost to the public who are denied the service that these people would normally be asked to provide. It is all right to give somebody a day off but such leave should not take away from the public services these people would normally provide. They should be replaced by someone else in the public service. Cash-strapped Departments can use this mechanism — giving staff all the unpaid leave they want — to save money. That is not good enough, however, because people deserve a service, so staff on leave should be replaced. We must address these issues and cannot allow them to continue unchecked.

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