Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an agreement that she criticised at the time and now that it is her view that it is no longer in place - a view with which I completely disagree given, for example, that the Labour Court recommendation was made inside the framework of the Lansdowne Road agreement - she cannot then criticise the Government for an agreement that she herself is against. That is the challenge Deputy Joan Collins and her colleagues face, who are raising this issue at the moment.

In recent weeks and months Deputy Joan Collins called for the abolition of water charges and an end to the private collection of waste and for the State to play a larger role in that regard. She called for an increase in the public transport subvention in light of existing industrial relations difficulties. The list goes on. She is calling for all of those things to happen but the question is how we do all of that and how we can pay for it. As I said to Deputy John Brady earlier, I am fully aware of the challenges people face, whom I am privileged to represent. I am as aware of the situation as Deputy Joan Collins. She does not have a monopoly on making that point. However, it falls to me and the Government to try to find a way of making progress in these matters in a way that is affordable and fair for everybody.

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