Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and commend him on the work he has done over the last two and a half years. He has worked closely with the public service and all the stakeholders during a very difficult time. This country effectively ran out of money, so these are difficult times.

The Bill removes the legislative barriers to redeployment and mobility in general within the public service. In addition to thanking the Minister, I thank all public servants for the flexibility, dedication and loyalty they have shown to the State. When the Finance Bill was introduced, I said in the House one night that they had given the State great service. Public servants have not escaped the downturn in the economy or the falling house prices, but they have shown huge determination and flexibility in trying to work together to repair the finances of the State.

The Bill removes the barriers to redeployment and mobility between the various sectors within the public service. I welcome the mechanism for facilitating greater movement between public service organisations and from non-commercial State bodies. There is a greater need for this fluidity and changing expertise. The Bill will enable an employee in the public service to be redeployed to a comparable post in another public service body. The redeployment must provide for no less favourable conditions regarding basic pay and pensions. The Bill provides for the transfer of responsibility to meet superannuation liabilities to the receiving organisation and provides for the preservation of the various statutory rights of employees that are linked to lengths of service, such as the redundancy Acts and unfair dismissals Acts.

The Croke Park agreement provided a basis for movement within the Civil Service and the health, local authority and education sectors and, where internal redeployment is not possible, between these bodies and non-commercial semi-State bodies. The arrangements are reaffirmed in the Haddington Road agreement. Excluded from that are political, judicial and constitutional posts, members of the Permanent Defence Forces and presidential and Government appointees, as well as special advisers, officers of the Houses of the Oireachtas and those employed by the Central Bank and the National Treasury Management Agency. I welcome that.

However, what is happening on the ground? In my native Roscommon, the hospital has received very negative publicity. Previously, if one was seeking a job, the HSE would appoint one as a nurse or doctor at Roscommon County Hospital. Now, a nurse, doctor or consultant is appointed to the group of hospitals comprising Roscommon hospital, the two hospitals in Galway and the hospitals in Castlebar and Ballinasloe, and they can be moved among those hospitals. That is a huge innovation and shows huge flexibility within the hospital initiative.

I agree with Deputy Finian McGrath that there has been an attack on the body politic. It has been very damaged by the tribunals and scandals that took place, but not all politicians are the same. Many politicians, both on the opposition and government benches, believe that as public servants they have a dedication to public service. I absolutely would not condone any attacks on the public service. Public servants have been very loyal and any attacks on them would be cheap and uncalled for. I support the public service institution in this country. However, I believe there is a race to the bottom in terms of how politicians are treated. I stood up on an issue in Roscommon more than two years ago. I made the right call on the protection of lives in County Roscommon; it was the right call for the protection of the Government and for this country. Will it have been the right call for Frank Feighan as an individual or politician? Time will tell. So far, not one person has died. Roscommon County Hospital is twice as busy as it was in 2010 and at least 40 lives have been saved due to the new procedures in place. However, these things go unannounced and unheard of because we have a love affair with bad news. One will not sort out problems by going on the local radio, Twitter, Facebook or the local newspapers or by attacking the local politician. One will sort them out by working with the public servants and by working on the ground to find a resolution.

We have a modernised public service. However, I believe there are people such as consultants, doctors and people in positions of power who should stand up and be counted. These people have not done so. What has happened in Roscommon is not quite a miracle but it is the right thing. I pay tribute to the managers in the HSE and in the public service who must make very difficult decisions. They must lead by example and determine what is the right way to proceed.

The staff who work with those public managers also deserve great credit.

Approximately two months ago, I went on local radio to discuss psychiatric services. Less than a year ago, our great colleague, Shane McEntee, who was a Minister of State at the time, took his own life. In my opinion he did so as a result of the pressure of being involved in politics. Will we ever grow up and learn from our mistakes? During the radio discussion to which I refer I called on management and unions to work together. I am of the view that, as a public representative, that was the right call to make. As a result of the fact that somebody misinterpreted my views and then communicated that misinterpretation to the members of a particular union who did not know what I had actually said, however, I was subjected to two days' worth of abuse. I was sent e-mails at 5 a.m. and received telephone calls at 8 a.m. I also received text messages and messages on Facebook. I communicated with all those who contacted me and when they discovered what I had actually said, they were big enough to engage in a debate with me on the matter. We did not always agree with each other but at least we had the discussion.

If I worked in any other profession, the Garda would have been called in and an investigation would have taken place. Due to the fact that I am a politician, however, I do not seem to have recourse to fair play or a fair hearing. I was an ordinary person before I became involved in politics. I receive the same salary as a principal officer in the public service and I am very happy to get it because it is a great honour. It will not be a case of open season being declared, via Facebook, on politicians such as myself in the future by people who effectively are hiding behind particular names. A stand must be taken. I recall the night on which I went on radio. Like most colleagues I have been through a great deal, but I was absolutely shocked by the intensity and nature of the reaction.

There will be many campaigns prior to the budget in respect of small schools and various other matters. We are well able to take and give abuse. Those who wish to give us abuse should do so in an up-front and measured way in order that others will be in a position to listen to both sides of the argument. I understand that people are angry with regard to what has happened in the past three to four years. I, too, am angry. I come from a business background and we were obliged to close our operation. Like everyone else, I have a mortgage. The fact that I am a politician does not mean that people can openly abuse me. Those who abused me are people who should know better. They are leaders in society and in various organisations. They went to ground after offering their abuse, particularly in respect of Roscommon County Hospital. They are all saying now that what has happened at the hospital is fantastic and that the facility is very busy. The latter is only the case as a result of the Trojan work done by politicians in government and management at the hospital and due to the fact that nurses, doctors and other members of staff changed the ways in which they work. That which I have just described is happening in various areas of the public sector. People are working together and they are changing the way they do business. I congratulate public sector workers in that regard.

I am aware that a predecessor of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, who held the position for 13 or 14 years, intervened in particular matters and signed off on people receiving payments even if they were not entitled to them. That simply does not happen now. All of the relevant decisions are made within the public sector in a way that is designed to be fair, open and transparent. Will we receive thanks for that? Absolutely not. However, it is important to highlight this fact on the record of the Dáil. Those who know best, who are impartial and who possess the requisite experience and expertise, namely, public servants, are responsible for making decisions. Politicians should have some influence but they should not be able to exert undue pressure, because that would be wrong.

I welcome the Bill and I congratulate the Minister on its introduction. I also congratulate the public sector unions and their members and all of those people who have shown great flexibility and resolve in getting this country back to work.

See this speech in context