Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill 2017 will enact the public service stability agreement that has been reached between the Government and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The question of how the Government will deal with the fact that three teaching unions - the ASTI, the TUI and the INTO - have yet to ratify the agreement is a serious one. This outstanding issue is a cause for great concern. Under this agreement, teachers who joined the profession after 2011 will continue to be paid less than colleagues who took up their positions before then, even though they are doing exactly the same job. This issue of pay parity is the main reason the stability agreement has not been ratified by the teacher unions. It is of the utmost importance that this issue is not allowed to escalate further. While industrial action must be avoided, we cannot expect young teachers to accept this inequality indefinitely. The vital work of teachers in our communities underpins the quality of our education standards, of which we have rightly been proud over the generations.

We must endeavour to attract the very best young people into the teaching profession. One of the key elements of attracting them is offering a fair and appropriate financial package which offers them a clear path for their career. By continuing with the current regime we demotivate the teachers who have joined since 2011 and we stand the risk of making teaching a second rate profession, which will do untold damage to the education system and have far-reaching consequences for our economy in the years ahead. I urge the Minister to take this particular aspect of the Bill seriously and to find a solution that will honour the commitment of our hard-working teachers.

Our young gardaí and members of the Defence Forces find themselves in a similar position. We expect these men and women, who put themselves in harm's way, to uphold the rule of law and to keep our society safe. We expect these young men and women to maintain the security of our State. We expect them to do so and then they are paid less than their colleagues who joined before 2011. This cannot continue. Staff retention and recruitment is another key issue affecting the public sector. This agreement fails to deal fully with it. In areas such as nursing and the Defence Forces numbers have fallen to critical levels. GPs, particularly in rural areas, are failing to take up positions. This has a huge impact on rural communities. This not only affects the services themselves, but also the conditions under which existing employees are working.

While this Bill addresses some of the grievances for public sector pensioners, the speed of restoration is not what they would be happy with. This agreement will cost €880 million over the next three years or €1.1 billion over four years. The bulk of the cost will be loaded to 2019 and beyond. The cost in 2018 will be €180 million. Unwinding FEMPI on a fiscally sustainable basis has always been a core policy objective for Fianna Fáil. During the financial crisis which began in 2008, FEMPI legislation was enacted in 2009 and again in 2010, 2011 and 2013. As part of the gradual unwinding of FEMPI legislation, the Haddington Road agreement and then the Lansdowne Road agreement were negotiated. Fianna Fáil was not part of the negotiations. However, we believe it is in the interest of the country that the agreement reached will be sustainable and fair, particularly for lower and medium-paid workers. It must also allow for more public services to be provided, particularly in health and education.

It is imperative that we make these professions attractive for young people in order to ensure that we can provide the workforce needed for our growing population. Our public servants are key to providing the services which our population needs and demands. We look forward to progressing these issues.

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