Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the general response from the Minister. I framed the question to elicit information on the impact on the most vulnerable people in our communities of announcements related to the comprehensive review of expenditure which I had hoped the Minister would make today. Instead, he published a document on public sector reform. My main concern with his proposals is the lack of management plan for maintaining front line services, namely, those provided by nurses, firemen, ambulance drivers, emergency medic technicians, gardaí and so forth. The Minister did not announce levels below which employment in these services would not be allowed to drop. If all staff in a key area of a private sector company were leaving, the company would take measures to ensure the key service provided by the area in question was not wiped out. The document published today does not state that the number of nurses, ambulance drivers and so forth will not be allowed to fall below a certain level. Rather than having a crude cut in public sector numbers, public sector reform should be managed. I am surprised the Minister announced public sector numbers would decline by 12,000, which is more than the figure agreed by the previous Government.

I am concerned not only about social welfare rates but also the people who depend on front line services. I welcome the decision taken by the Minister for Education and Skills on examination classes as it will allow teachers to remain in employment. Similar decisions are needed in key areas such as nursing and the ambulance service. The Government should provide a commitment that the number of staff in certain sectors will not fall below a certain level. If, as is possible, 20,000 nurses were to decide to retire by next February, the country would not be able to cope. I want the Government to produce a plan to prevent a scenario in which we do not have key front line staff when the current retirement regime comes to an end.

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