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

On a point of information, I contacted the Bills Office during the suspension and it has now provided to Members a list of the amendments that are deemed to be in order. Some 52 of the 71 amendments tabled have been ruled out of order and the other 19 can be discussed. Perhaps the Standing Orders of the House might be changed in order that, in addition to grouping schedules, lists of amendments that are deemed to be in or out of order will be circulated to Members as a matter of course.

Section 1 of the Bill contains several references to previous legislation relating to financial emergency measures in the public interest. I am of the view that the section should also have contained a confirmation that there continues to be a financial emergency in the country. One could argue that a financial emergency was in existence when the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009 - by means of which serious pay cuts were imposed - the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010 and the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Amendment) Act 2011 were all introduced. In 2010, we were obliged, for example, to borrow money from the troika of the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF. We are almost ready to emerge from the troika process and the IMF is scheduled to leave our shores in December. As already stated, the section refers to the titles of several items of legislation relating to financial emergency measures in the public interest.

Will the Minister explain his assertion that there is a financial emergency in the country? There is still a deficit, but "deficit" is not the definition of "financial emergency". The deficit is being reduced year on year and we are meeting all of our EU-IMF targets. Today, various reports were published on many EU countries. Spain has a deficit of 7% while Belgium and others have much larger deficits, yet they do not consider themselves to be in financial emergencies.

We are dealing with financial emergency legislation at the end of May 2013. Notwithstanding the need to reduce public expenditure and our deficit, it is incumbent on the Minister to clarify whether a report that is available to the House has confirmed that we are in a financial emergency. The Acts referred to in section 1 - the previous financial emergency measure enactments - require an annual report to confirm the existence of a financial emergency. Such a report was issued in 2010 and 2011. The last report I saw was in June 2012. Perhaps as soon as next week, the Minister will have an up-to-date report on the financial emergency. It would have been better to have had the published report before the completion of this legislation. There is no reason not to delay Report and Final Stages for one week. With the report, we and the public would then be in a position to judge whether there was a financial emergency.

In the context of this debate, some of the recent legislation resulted from the referendum on cutting judges' pay. This was done on constitutional grounds rather than on grounds of a financial emergency. The reasoning was that judges should not have been exempted from reductions in public sector pay. A cut was deemed to be proportionate and the people of Ireland voted accordingly.

Before the Minister proceeds with section 1, will he explain, including in writing, why he is convinced that we are still in a financial emergency? It should not be the usual reference to the need to cut the deficit and to reduce expenditure. At the conclusion of Second Stage, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, spoke on the Minister's behalf. He stated:

Deputy Fleming also asked for the Government's estimate of when the financial emergency would end. I cannot, unfortunately, guarantee that the crisis will end on a particular day or in a particular month.

While I accept this and the situation depends on growth in the international economy and other factors, the Minister should be able to outline the circumstances in which financial emergency measures will no longer be necessary.

This legislation is concerned with pay and pension cuts over a three-year period or longer. Why are we passing legislation for three years' time when we might not even be in a financial emergency? Who adjudicates on whether the emergency still exists? Is it the troika, the Minister, the Government, the Houses or the fiscal council? By definition, none of the legislative measures in question should continue to exist once we are out of the financial emergency. Will the Minister clarify why he views this Bill as necessary?

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