Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Mitchell has said a lot. I definitely agree with it. I do not really want to repeat it all. There is no magic wand in this regard. Once more, we are having to address and sort out a problem with the aim of achieving a better end for everybody. We are working towards an economic recovery that sees us improve the employment situation and offer people a better future. There is no way of getting around it - we have to fund savings in the public sector pay bill. At the moment, we are looking for €300 million. We know that the cuts which have been made over the years to address our fiscal situation have been difficult. We also know that they have been in every area of the public sector bar wages and pensions. It is inevitable that wages and pensions would be addressed because they form such a big section of public sector payments. Of course this leaves the Government in a difficult situation. It leaves us with the prospect of industrial unrest and all the sorts of things that will inhibit and obstruct the recovery we so vitally need.

I welcome the notion that all is not lost. The Government cannot unilaterally say how the cuts ought to be achieved. The public sector workers who will be affected have an opportunity to do so. I should add that the workers in question are very valued. From my dealings with them over the years, I can say that some of our best and most talented people are working in the public sector. That is not the issue, however. The issue is the need to balance the books. The challenge is to achieve the savings that are required in a negotiated way. It is a bit like running a court case - it is better for one to negotiate a settlement that is within one's power than to go into a judge and hand it all over. That is always and ever the case. It is the situation in this case. People can dig their heels in and say "no way", but it will still have to be done one way or another.

The reality check is that the real problem is not for public sector workers. The real problem is in the private sector, where countless people have lost their jobs. They have no union to shout for them. Many people who have jobs are working just three days a week so that they and their colleagues do not lose their jobs but instead enjoy a full complement of work. Many of those who own small businesses such as pubs, bars and restaurants throughout this country are sole traders. They have been adversely affected by the abolition of the employer's rebate for redundancies. They cannot downsize or restructure their businesses or make people redundant. They are forced to continue on because they cannot afford to pay 100% redundancy. When we had the boom, 60% of the cost of redundancy was covered by the State.

I know of an employer in my constituency who had to make staff redundant at a cost of €40,000 and now cannot afford €10,000 to pay for the tax clearance certificate needed to run the business. The employer has not succeeded in getting finance from the bank. I know of sole traders who are reaching retirement age but cannot retire and wind up their businesses because they would have to pay redundancy and they cannot afford to do so. Their employees would be able to claim social welfare payments if they were made redundant, but the employers themselves would not necessarily or readily be able to do so. A massive inequity is being imposed on people in the private sector because they are not in unison in terms of having a union and they do not have the same volumes. I am talking about employers, sole traders and small businesses, rather than big incorporated businesses that can hide behind the corporate veil. The ordinary shops and businesses on the main streets of our towns, villages and cities which are in this predicament are between a rock and a hard place.

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