Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 13, inclusive, together.

As Deputies are aware, we engaged in intensive dialogue with the social partners throughout last year with the objective of agreeing an integrated strategic response to the unprecedented economic challenges the country is facing. As part of our engagement with the social partners last year, the Government held discussions with the public service unions aimed at agreeing a permanent structural reduction in the public service pay bill. Regrettably, as Deputies are aware, those efforts were not successful. I gave the House a detailed account of those discussions in my reply to questions asked on 9 December last.

Elsewhere, IBEC and ICTU held a series of informal discussions aimed at reaching an agreement on private sector pay matters late last year. I understand that those discussions, while constructive, did not yield an agreed outcome, as a consequence of which IBEC has announced its decision to withdraw from participation in the pay terms of the Towards 2016 review and transitional agreement. While the conclusion of a national pay agreement is a matter for the parties themselves, there is obvious merit in developing arrangements for the orderly conduct of industrial relations in the private sector in the period ahead.

The inability to reach agreement on this occasion does not mean that mutually beneficial collaboration and joint problem solving, which have been hallmarks of our model of social dialogue in this country for more than two decades, are no longer possible, relevant or desirable. It is true that, on this occasion, we have struggled to devise an agreed central framework under social partnership appropriate to current circumstances. This clearly suggests that our current model of social partnership needs to evolve further, as it has in the past, if it is to be capable of responding to the unique challenges we now face. This is something on which the Government and each of the social partners must reflect over the period ahead.

Notwithstanding recent developments, and as I stated in my reply of 9 December last, the Government continues to believe in the value of social dialogue as a way to maximise common understanding and engagement between all sectors of society. In particular, within the context of the ten-year framework agreement, Towards 2016, the Government will continue to consult, as appropriate, with the social partners as key stakeholders in the development and implementation of relevant sectoral policies.

As regards the public service, the Government in its role as employer and the public service unions both recognise that change is important and both sides know what must be done in each sector to achieve change. There is a shared view on the sort of changes across the public service that would produce greater efficiency, better services for the public and more satisfactory working conditions for public servants. It is important for the public service and the citizen that there is engagement on this reform agenda and it is through such engagement that the issues of concern to public servants can be addressed.

One of the main benefits of our model of social partnership is the significant industrial peace the process has delivered over the past 22 years. Over the past decade, the National Implementation Body has played an important role by helping to avert and defuse a whole range of complex industrial disputes, successfully underpinning and reinforcing the role of the State's dispute resolution machinery. The body, which last met on 19 November, was established by the Government, employers and trade unions to monitor the implementation of national agreements, but it also had a role in terms of oversight of industrial relations more broadly and, in particular, regarding major industrial disputes or threatened action which could have significant implications for the economy. While clearly the role of monitoring national agreements does not arise at present, I see merit in a continuation of this type of engagement between the Government, employers and trade unions in respect of industrial relations matters generally.

Members will be aware of the ongoing efforts across the public service to achieve savings, to ensure synergies and to avoid duplication. In light of this and the value for money review carried out last year, the Government has decided to amalgamate the three constituent bodies of the National Economic and Social Development Office, NESDO, by absorbing the National Economic and Social Forum, NESF, and the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, NCPP, into the National Economic and Social Council, NESC. The overall grant-in-aid allocation for NESDO in this Department's Estimate for 2010 is €3.854 million, representing a decrease of €1.205 million over the 2009 Estimate. Work is still ongoing to finalise the transitional arrangements for the bodies.

Both the forum and the centre have played a valuable role over the last number of years in advising the Government on policies to achieve greater equality and social inclusion and on promoting and facilitating partnership-led change in the Irish workplace. I wish to acknowledge formally the work of all of the staff involved in both of these bodies, together with the members from across all of the social partners. In particular, I would like to thank Ms Maureen Gaffney, chairman of the National Economic and Social Forum, and Mr. Peter Cassells, chairman of the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, for their contribution. This decision does not reflect any diminution of the Government's support for social dialogue and the National Economic and Social Council will continue as a forum for engagement between the Government and the social partners in the period ahead. During 2010, the council will further adapt its work programme to ensure that appropriate aspects of the work of the NESF and NCPP are continued, while focusing on economic and social aspects of the ongoing crisis, including support for those who have lost their jobs, as well as on completion of its report on the role of the European Union in Ireland's economic and social development.

See this speech in context