Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am sharing time with Deputy Dara Murphy.

I did not come in here to pick a fight with Deputy Dooley, but I remind him that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has pioneered the movement towards sharing resources and reform of the structure and cost of local government. When I hear the Deputy talk about the whole issue of cultural change, privatisation of the health service and agency nurses, I close my eyes and I wonder where I was for the past 14 years because this is what was happening when his party was on this side of the House. I do not want to fight with him, but that is the reality.

I agree with Deputy Calleary's points on public sector reform. As somebody who has been a public servant in the classroom for around 20 years, I could not disagree with anything he said about the issue. I hope the Minister will engage constructively with the public service; not just with the unions, but with an gná muintir in the public sector, the ordinary person who has much to offer. I made that point to the Minister. We need a forum on public service reform.

If we are to talk about public service reform and renewal, it must be in a transparent way, and in a way that will produce tangible benefits. One of the biggest catastrophes to hit this country was benchmarking. It was used as a political weapon by the former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, to buy votes, but we could not afford it. We all benefitted from it. I could not understand why we had to change what was happening on the ground in the public service.

I welcome the comments of the director general of RTE in a speech given in DCU recently on the cost and provision of salaries in that organisation. He is right. There are exorbitant salaries being paid in RTE at the high end and these need to be trimmed. RTE is beholden to the State and to the licence payer. I know that it is exempt from the Bill because it is a commercial entity. Perhaps we should also look at those other companies exempt from the Bill, but that is a different story. There is sufficient talent within RTE that deserves to be nurtured and promoted, and I hope RTE does this. Some of its very good programmes are indigenous programmes produced by people who do a very good job.

This morning the Minister outlined in his speech that the current model is no longer tenable, and he is right. The cost of providing public sector pensions is increasing and needs to be tackled. This debate should have taken place a long time ago. I appreciate that the last Government had begun that process. However, it was playing catch up. There are six people working for every pensioner today. In years to come, that ratio is expected to be 2:1.

The Bill before us is an example of a government planning for an anticipated problem and an example of a government of renewal, reform and transformation. If the same energy had been exhibited by past administrations, then our economic woes would not be as serious as they are today, and we would not be presented with the difficulties that are before us now. The Bill is critical to public service renewal. It is important that we allay the fears of existing public service members, in that it has no implication for their pensions.

I love the phrase "financial emergency". The late Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan, brought it in as a Bill and that is what this is. We are in the midst of a financial emergency. This Government has to legislate and put in place what is best for the public interest. I challenge the Members in the technical group and Sinn Féin to engage properly in this financial emergency.

I welcome the Minister's speech this morning. He admitted that he is considering minor amendments. It needs to be more open ended than that. This is a very complex and wide-ranging issue which many people do not understand, due to the language used by vested interests and commentators. We must communicate to the people in simple language. We must plan for tomorrow. I agree with Deputy Calleary's concerns about early retirement in February. The volume of phone calls, e-mails and representations from existing public servants across the spectrum has been extraordinary. I hope we do not lose that large body of expertise and wisdom in February. Language is important because it is critical we engage and consult and do not scare people.

This Bill can be linked to the whole issue of transformation and renewal of the public service. It is not just an Exchequer exercise in reducing costs, although that is part of it. Those who watched the RTE programme on Monday night will recognise that there needs to be an in-depth debate across the political divide on the provision of pensions and how to plan for the retirement and longer lives of our citizens. No responsible parliamentarian criticises people for living longer. We welcome that, but it has a consequence and we must plan for it.

This Bill is about the future. The decisions we make now will have repercussions in the future. I know it has a 2050 approach, but by bringing in a single, transparent scheme, we are providing a good service to the people. The three important changes are in respect of the career average, the later retirement age and the decreases to pension payments. These changes are to be welcomed because they create a level playing field in the public service. When I was teaching, there were different pension requirements and different PRSI contributions made. As a Member of this House, I am aware that there are different pension schemes open to Ministers. Irrespective of the position of a public servant, there will be a single transparent pension payable to that individual, which is welcome.

It is important that we recognise the immeasurable contributions being made by public servants across the country. They do a great day's work. They are providing a service. They are the intermediary for many people under pressure, for students in classrooms and in the health service. I very much regret that there has been a demonisation of public servants in certain media quarters. That is done for cheap political gain and for headlines. It pits private workers against public workers, which is wrong. Some people opt to work in the public service, while others choose to work in the private sector. That is the way society evolves.

We must have policy change. There is a challenge for politicians and for the Government. As the Minister has said, we must make that change, because if we do not, we will pay the consequences in time. We live in extraordinary times, and that is what we have to confront. That is why it is important that we forget about actuarial terms and different configurations and calculations. This Bill is a continuation of the changes being made within the public service, including the integrated State pension in 1995, fixing the retirement age at 65 for new entrants in 2005, and introducing the pension levy in 2009. We have a compendium of change and this Bill is a continuation of that.

I welcome the Bill, although I have reservations about certain parts of the legislation. I hope the Minister will address my reservations on Committee and Report Stages. I welcome the fact the Government is trying to stimulate job creation activity and I hope we will have a good debate both on Committee and Report Stages.

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