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

The questions we had tabled for today related to the pay talks and have been gazumped by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill which was published at 1 p.m. That is the essence of what we are now discussing.

My question asked about the changes in the legislation that were not in the rejected Croke Park II deal. The Minister said that was the best deal in town. I presume the Minister was sincere when he said that but he has moved on to a new deal. Is this a better deal and was the last deal not the best deal in town? Perhaps the Minister can explain why he has had a change in that regard.

The Minister pays tribute to those involved in negotiations. Can he talk to me about the involvement of retired public servants in the agreement process? My understanding is that they were not involved in the first process. The same paragraph is in the new agreement as was rejected earlier. The special legislation has major sections dealing with the reduction of pay of retired public servants who were not part of the deal. I cannot understand how the Minister is thanking people for their co-operation when he ensured they were not part of the process. Nevertheless, he is coming to take pay from the pensioners by way of emergency legislation. The Minister should explain the involvement they had.

The Minister talks about co-operation and agreement from public servants. We are all in favour of agreement and savings. The Minister has been quoting to me what Fianna Fáil said about the need for savings. Our position has not changed. Can the Minister explain to the public why he wants an agreement with the unions when he is ramming through legislation on Wednesday night giving legal effect to the agreement that is being signed off today? What is the purpose of wanting public service employees to vote for an agreement that will already have been rammed through the Oireachtas?

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