Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

In welcoming the Minister's announcement tonight in the House, it is important that we also send a message or signal to those in charge of semi-State bodies. The Government has continually raised the issue of the pay of those in charge of these bodies. It was bizarre that an organisation such as Coillte had to wait until after the weekend to act, after gauging public reaction to the fact that its chief executive officer had not complied with the Government's request to reduce his salary. This behaviour is unacceptable. Contrast it with that of President Higgins who voluntarily took a cut in pay.

There is a culture of entitlement prevailing in this country and has been for a long time. I listened to Deputy Cowen speaking to the Private Members' motion and could not believe he had the temerity to speak about the past decade when his party presided over the exponential growth in pay for those at the top of the pyramid in the public service. The Government has shown leadership and courage in tackling salaries and the issue of reform. It is important to point out that these are not ordinary but extraordinary times. Regardless of whether we like it, there is absolute outrage at the pay, pensions and severance packages not just of many of those who have left the Government but also of those who are employed by the State at higher levels in the public service.

I knock on doors every week and live in the real world. There is absolute incredulity among people at the way top civil servants can walk out with the amount of money they receive and walk back into jobs again the next day. I call on those in receipt of State pensions and also employed elsewhere to hand back their pensions to the State. That is leadership; that is what public service is about. It is about bringing people with us. It is not enough to say we are dismayed, despondent and outraged at the level of pay being awarded to people at the higher levels. Will somebody explain how a person in their fifties can walk away with a lump sum of X amount, a pension of Y amount and still be able to go out and work? It is wrong. I am glad the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, and his Cabinet colleagues have tackled this issue in the House tonight. I understand the constraints under which they must work, but I really wish they could go further because when we are talking about savings, reform and leadership, we must start with those at the top of Irish society, be it in business, the semi-State sector, the public service or politics.

Will the Minister, please, dispel the myth and rumour about the laundry arrangements of politicians and Ministers? We have been hearing about it all week. I am happy to confirm that I wash and iron my own clothes; nobody gets paid to do it. I hope the rest of the Members do the same. It is important to send the message from this House that we are here as the people's representatives.

The Minister is right that it is not just about quantity but also about equality of treatment. The Government has taken the initiative and shown leadership, not just now but from its first day in office. I also wish to praise the Chief Justice for her leadership. I made this point when I spoke in the House on the referendum Bill earlier in this session. She showed absolute leadership, as have the members of the Cabinet. The proposal the Minister has made tonight regarding public service pensions is welcome. Real reform must be linked with leadership by those in authority.

I call on all people in authority to show leadership. This is a time when those at the very top of semi-State organisations, business, banking and private industry can show leadership and patriotism and bring people with them. This is not about ideology or scoring political points but about getting the country back off its knees. It is about inspiring young people who are in school wondering if they will have a college place or a job. It is about the mothers who are crying and lonely about their children being abroad and about those who are abroad having the dream of being able to return. If we want nothing else for ourselves, we should seek to have a country in which we can grow old, in which there will not be austerity and in which there will not be a return to the days of the boom and gloom of the Celtic tiger economy, in which we lost the run of ourselves and the sense of community and our sense of identity as a people were lost to the lure of the euro. That is the reality.

I am a public servant. We have the Croke Park deal which I very much welcome. However, if there is to be reform in the public service, it must be benchmarked against that deal. I am not in favour of cutting the pay of public servants, but I support reform in which we can have an equitable health system, a proper public service that is fit for purpose and in which our schools and health system will provide quality teaching and care. The job of the Government is to secure that reform and augment the good work being done in the public service, not to demonise public servants.

I congratulate the Minister on his initiative tonight. I hope it marks the beginning of further reform.

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