Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak. Public sector employees and welfare recipients have become the latest victims of the Government's blame game. There is a saying that a good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit. The kernel of the problem in this country is that we do not have leadership. The Government is bereft of ideas and has no plan. It has no idea how to get us out of the economic crisis and that is why, in recent weeks, spin doctors were diverting attention from the Government to the public service workers and social welfare recipients. They were easy targets.

Before the budget last week, at the 11th hour, the talks between the public service unions and the Government broke down. We must ask why they broke down. There are rumours of a frosty relationship between the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance. Why did the Government walk away from the offer of the unions? Media reports last weekend suggested there was to be a radical overhaul of the public service. The union members were willing to make a sacrifice and that is the most important point. They were willing to sign up to cuts that would effect a reduction in the public sector wage bill of €1 billion euro.

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