Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Ó Caoláin for his good wishes, which I appreciate.

A number of reports were published by NESF in its work programme, including on improving the delivery of quality public services, the arts, cultural inclusion and social cohesion, mental health, creating a more inclusive labour market, early childhood care and education, and the report mentioned by the Deputy on care for older people. Once reports are published, the recommendations in each report are referred to the relevant Ministers for their consideration.

As I stated, the forum is in the process of finalising its fifth periodic report which will provide details of those recommendations implemented under the headings. The Deputy will know in the aged area, every year in the budget a large increase has been directed to assist the aged. Under the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, we have co-ordinated and brought the care of the aged groups together under direct responsibility and this helps the entire focus in this area. Questions on the details of all the recommendations should be put to the Minister of State.

As Deputy Ó Caoláin will appreciate, I would not accept that the pay increases were in any way minimal. What we have done in recent years, under the social partnership agreements, in respect of tax and pay and in other areas has meant strong gains for employees. Without pre-empting the negotiations on this round, it is fair to say the talks will be set in the context of a more challenging environment. The parties are aware of the realities as set out for them by myself and the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance when we met in Dublin Castle on 15 February. It is critical we seek to protect our national competitiveness and that we maintain our public finances in a strong position. It is important that expectations take account of these fundamentals.

I anticipate discussions in the course of the talks in respect of issues such as pensions, agency workers, employment law compliance, public service reform and benchmarking. This is not about pay alone but about other issues flagged by the various social partners with whom we must deal.

Deputy Ó Caoláin spoke about the challenges facing workers. We are all aware that increases last year in mortgage interest rates and oil prices have driven inflation — they account for more than half our inflation rate. Unfortunately, these factors are not within our domestic control. In particular, energy prices are not determined by Government but are set independently by the Commission for Energy Regulation in light of prevailing conditions. Mortgage interest relief is a large component of service inflation. It is clear that limited competition in the services sector is an issue and that this should continue to be a priority for the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. We will work to ensure that the increases given to workers in all these areas are meaningful in terms of their quality of life and standard of living. The statistics clearly show that workers have gained from the national agreements made under the social partnerships during the past 20 years.

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