Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Now that it is in opposition, Fianna Fáil is calling for reform of the public service. It complains about "the inconsistency of treatment of different categories of public sector employees". To call for fairness and balance in the aftermath of the rejection of Croke Park II is typical Fianna Fáil manoeuvring and reeks of hypocrisy and political opportunism. When it was in power, Fianna Fáil could have introduced reforms to benefit low- and middle-income workers, but it did nothing. Its legacy is, rather, a public service that is bloated at the top with overpaid bureaucrats while the vast majority work for low and middle incomes.

What makes Fianna Fáil's Private Members' motion even more nauseating is the fact that in 2010 when the party was in power, 2,855 public servants were in receipt of family income supplement because they could not survive on the poverty wages that Deputy Micheál Martin and his party stood over. So let us not be fooled by Fianna Fáil's recently discovered bleeding heart. When in power, the party is as ruthless, anti-worker, and pro the status quoas Fine Gael any day. Since Fine Gael has come into power, the number of public service workers in receipt of family income supplement has increased. Under Fianna Fáil it was 2,855 in 2010 and, as of April 2013, it is 3,339, an increase of 484 workers under the current Fine Gael and Labour Party Government. If evidence were needed that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are two sides of the same coin, this is it.

In government, both parties are prepared to preside over a public service where over 8% of workers are officially classed as the working poor and dependent on Government hand-outs for basic survival. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour have no problem with almost 9% of hard working public servants earning poverty wages. If both parties were genuinely concerned about low and middle income public sector workers, they have had many opportunities to address the huge gap in terms of pay between the high earners at the top and the bulk of public servants, who are middle and low income workers.

Before union members voted on Croke Park II, Sinn Féin was of the view it was a bad deal for ordinary workers. It was a bad deal for nurses, teachers, gardaí, clerical staff, support staff, ambulance and fire crews and all the other occupations that make up our public service. Public sector workers have now spoken and Sinn Féin commends them on their stand against austerity. They are put to the pin of their collar and can take no more. One third of the public sector earns the average industrial wage or less. Another two thirds can be defined as middle to low income. These workers and their families did not bring the country to the edge of economic ruin. They did not borrow millions during the boom years. They did not live lavish lifestyles or surround themselves with expensive trinkets bought on borrowed money. These are ordinary women and men who work long and often unsocial hours to put food on the table and a roof over their families' heads. Austerity is not working and the socialising of private debt is bad economic policy and damaging to society and the body politic.

There is another way. If the Government is serious about reform of the public sector, it should eliminate runaway pay at the top and gold-plated pensions. In its budget proposals for 2013, Sinn Féin suggested a third tax band of 48% on individual incomes in excess of €100,000. Sinn Féin supports ordinary public sector workers and will continue to oppose any and all efforts to cut their pay or alter existing agreements that would have a negative impact on their working conditions.

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