Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I explained to the Deputy earlier, his characterisation of this matter being dealt with exclusively in the Department of Finance is not correct for the reasons I have given because we have set up, in line with the recommendations of the task force, a Cabinet committee and a steering group, which are working through those issues, as recommended by those who have advised the Government in this area. It is not correct to say that.

Second, setting up a separate Department will not solve the problem. I would have as great a need of a magic wand to do that as to stop strikes. We have had Departments with responsibility for the public service separate from the Department of Finance in the past. It was not found to be a panacea for public service reform on a major scale. In any event, it was tried in pre-partnership days. There must be a real and definitive commitment if these things are to happen. If a reform process is to succeed, there must be a timeline for arbitration and a commitment by everyone to accept the outcome of arbitration and move on. In the absence of that, process takes over and things churn on.

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