Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“acknowledges:— that public servants have made a substantial contribution towards the necessary reductions achieved in public expenditure since 2008, including through the unilateral imposition by the then Government of the pension levy and pay reductions applied under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009; and

— the ongoing contribution made to cost savings in the public service pay bill and to improving productivity by public servants under the terms of the Public Service Agreement 2010 - 2014, and the related agreements made under its auspices;welcomes the contribution made by public servants to economic recovery including through the absence of industrial action;

commends:— the Government on its early and open engagement with public servants and their union representatives on the difficult but necessary actions required to restore the public finances; and

— representatives of Public Service employers, unions and the Labour Relations Commission on the development of a balanced set of proposals that would deliver €1 billion in savings on the public service pay bill by 2015;notes:— that the Labour Relations Commission's proposals protected the basic salary rates of low and middle income earners in the public service while applying progressive reductions to the remuneration of higher paid public servants, and provided for a negotiated and equitable approach to securing the necessary savings in the public service pay bill; and

— the proud record of the public service in introducing and implementing work-life balance arrangements and that public service employers continue to be committed to equality of opportunity in its employment practices;agrees that, in view of public servants' non-acceptance of the measures proposed by the Labour Relations Commission, it will now be necessary for the Government to decide on and secure alternative measures that will deliver the additional pay and pensions savings of €300 million for 2013 and €1 billion by 2015 to meet public expenditure targets; and

further welcomes the Government's request to the Labour Relations Commission to explore and report back to Government on whether the basis for a negotiated agreement exists between the parties.”

It is ironic to be standing here debating a Fianna Fáil motion on the public service agreement on the day the troika arrives in town for the tenth programme review. As we speak, representatives of the current Government continue to discuss the carnage in the public finances and banking sector we inherited from Deputy Martin's Government.

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