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

I take that to also mean it will have to be conducted within the expenditure ceilings the Minister published for 2015, 2016 and 2017. He might tell us if he envisages a length for the agreement - 12, 24, 36 or 48 months. Has he a preference? I know he cannot get into the details of that.

The Minister spoke of reversing the financial emergency measures, saying they had cost billions, and then he talked about the cost to the public. I am worried that that might create an impression that he is intending to reverse the measures - that it is in some way part of these talks. He might clarify this. Does he mean he is handing public servants back the billions that were taken from them, or is he just saying that these measures are over and we are moving forward? There is some confusion out there. It might surprise him to hear that.

In these talks, will the Minister look at front-line services to the public in order to decide what to prioritise, whether it is health care or accident and emergency services? One should not just talk about public sector pay in isolation from the services provided by the public service.

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