Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Such a move is not sustainable and would cost us in the region of €2 billion. The impact would instantly wipe out the available fiscal space at the expense of investment in front-line services. We are also in uncertain times following the Brexit referendum. Ultimately, people have worked too hard, sacrificed too much and the country has come too far to jeopardise our economic recovery by performing such a reckless move.

Instead, we need to have a sensible and realistic conversation where we set out exactly how we will go about unwinding FEMPI in the fairest way. Fianna Fáil believes the setting up of a public pay commission is the best way to do this. This has been agreed in a minority Government facilitation document. The question we must consider in the House is where we begin. The negotiated dissolution of FEMPI should be targeted first at low and middle-income earners and in particular at ensuring new entrants are treated fairly. A priority of the House must be to make a career in the public sector an enticing and exciting option for our youngest and brightest to consider as they complete their education. At the moment, this is not the case. For most young people, the idea of the public sector does not enter their thoughts after school or college. Why should they when they see how poorly they will be treated in the two-tier sector that has been allowed to develop?

A week has not gone by since I was elected without a young teacher, garda or nurse contacting me about their situation. These bright, talented, ambitious young people are struggling to survive because of the poor pay and conditions of their work. If we take teachers for example, those who entered the profession after 2010 are on significantly lower pay scales than their colleagues, even though they have precisely the same responsibilities. It means that over a 40-year career, new teachers will earn some €250,000 less than the colleagues they are working beside. Many new teachers are now thinking long and hard if it is all worth it. There is no shortage of first-hand accounts of young people in the industry struggling to meet the cost of rent, food, transport or keeping a car on the road. Thoughts of mortgages or paying off a loan are but a pipe dream for many.

We have seen how gardaí are in the same situation. The starting salary of €23,000 is an insult and pathetic remuneration for the men and women putting their lives on the line to keep us safe. The commitment and dedication required in this regard is not easily found. These people's talents should be nurtured and honed. A €23,000 salary does not do this and will never do this. With the ongoing criminal feuds gripping many parts of this city, the need to develop An Garda Síochána is more important than ever. The Government wants to expand the force to 15,000. This will not happen if we do not provide a proper salary. The situation is the exact same for nurses and all the young people on the front line trying to deliver services in the most difficult of scenarios. Changes to this legislation should start here and with the low earners who bore the brunt of the pain. It is time they were rewarded.

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