Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The Labour Party leader said the Minister did very little to stop today's industrial action. I want to ask him what he is going to do to stop the industrial action next week. He has not said anything in his formal script or since that tangibly will have any impact on what is happening outside the gate. The people outside the gate know that Fianna Fáil has brought this country to the edge of ruin. They know that when the economy crashed, the Taoiseach was driving the car. I want the Minister to acknowledge there is a lot of ballyhoo surrounding the budget about secrecy and so on. If the Minister was to announce here this evening that, in the matter of basic pay, he does not intend to impact further on public servants of modest incomes, I believe it would do wonders to avert the industrial action now scheduled for next Thursday. Can the Minister say in the House now that people on modest incomes will be protected from further attack on basic pay in order to avert industrial action planned for next Thursday?

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