Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to conclude this debate. I will start by reiterating what is contained in the motion. It recognises the huge sacrifices made by public sector employees and pensioners in recent years; the ongoing savings being delivered by the current Croke Park agreement; the significant benefit to the economy and society that the absence of industrial action in the public sector has achieved; the need to ensure that further reductions in the overall public sector pay and pensions bill occur in a fair and structured manner; and the importance of a shared commitment to reform by all stakeholders in the delivery of public services. I cannot understand why everybody in this House does not agree to that and why the Government will not accept this motion. I am surprised by that but then again, having listened to the debate, I am not really surprised because I was quite entertained by what was said by some Government backbenchers. A number of them accused us of making unilateral cuts to public servants' pay. The next speaker complained that we were paying public servants too much. However, even considering those contrasting views, we ended up with Croke Park I which was passed and continues in operation to the end of this year. That agreement has ensured reduced staff numbers, reform, pay savings and non-pay savings. The third report on progress up to the end of last year will be published shortly.

The Taoiseach said again today that there is no guarantee of job security if there is no new deal, which is not helping the process. However, I remind him that there is a guarantee. Croke Park I guarantees job security and it runs until the end of this year. There is no reason it should be set aside.

Yesterday, the Government asked Mr. Kieran Mulvey, the chief executive of the Labour Relations Commission, to contact all parties to see if it is possible to come back with some proposals. The Government was right to do that and to want to re-engage with its employees, which an employer should do. However, that process must be given a chance and for the Taoiseach to say this morning that there is no guarantee of job security if we do not get a deal is unhelpful.

A half an hour after the Taoiseach said that, Government Deputies voted through the start of the 2013 Estimates which included the Croke Park II pay deal adjustments that were negotiated by the LRC. On the one hand, the Government is handing it over to Mr. Kieran Mulvey for a couple of weeks while on the other hand, it is threatening people's job security and voting through the Estimates, including the rejected pay deal. The Government is damaging any prospect of goodwill. The actions of the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Howlin, in the Chamber this morning have made Mr. Kieran Mulvey's job even more difficult and they should have considered that before they took these actions but then again, the Minister, Deputy Howlin, probably presumed that because the Labour Party was in government, the unions would fall for the deal and it would go through. The Minister set out to divide and conquer and before the deal was even finalised, he ensured a large number of public sector employees were excluded from the process by ensuring they walked out. If he had wanted to keep them in the talks, they would have stayed but he did not want to do that. In the couple of weeks when the voting was taking place, he threatened a 7% pay cut across the board. Another Minister from the same party said on television one Sunday night that there was wriggle room if the deal was rejected, which added to the confusion. A deal can be achieved if there is fairness and if a disproportionate burden is not placed on some people.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has complicated matters by confirming since the deal was rejected that there will be permanent changes affecting the pay and hours of work of staff at the lower pay levels in the public service, whereas the cuts for the majority of those on salaries above €65,000 will be reversed. There are temporary cuts for higher earning staff, while there are permanent cuts for those on lower wages.

Fairness is the key. The motion calls for three simple steps: immediate engagement by the Government with public sector employees with a view to securing a balanced agreement that could secure widespread support among public sector employees - I do not see the problem with this and do not understand how anybody could; confirmation that the Government will not legislate for an across the board 7% pay cut - I cannot see how it could do this if it is asking Mr. Kieran Mulvey to examine the matter; and a commitment to full disclosure of all correspondence that has not been made public and which was issued as part of the proposed deal to various trade unions. I cannot understand how everybody in the House could not agree to this. I, therefore, call on the Government parties to support the motion.

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