Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I did not think I had to. The public service stability agreement is a welcome initiative because it starts and paves the way for the continuing unwinding of what has been a very difficult journey for our public servants, especially from 2009 to 2013. As Deputy Mattie McGrath noted, we had no choice but to introduce what were financial emergency measures. Deputy Calleary and others have been very responsible in their contributions and have acknowledged the actual state of the country at the time the financial emergency measures were introduced while others, unfortunately, are looking backwards with some rose-tinted view. We must look back at the state of the country at the time. The wheels had literally come off the proverbial wagon and there was a need for our public servants to make a contribution above and beyond, which they did. It is also worth bearing in mind that this happened against the backdrop of being able to maintain continuing industrial peace in the country. In dealing with this legislation, it is important that we pay tribute to the public servants who kept the doors of our public services open in that intervening period, not just front-line services but back office services as well. Oftentimes, these are the hidden public servants within the public services. We need to acknowledge them for that. We are on a very clear road to recovery and we have all acknowledged this in the House. We need to make sure the sustainability we have in terms of where we are economically is measured, sustained and realistic.

This agreement and the legislation setting out the provisions for it are different for a number of reasons. First, it paves the way for a totally different climate of industrial relations between the Government and public servants in a way that may not have been done previously. I pay tribute to the responsible attitude and nature of the public service unions and the officials in my Department led by the Minister regarding what was quite a difficult backdrop. It is worth bearing in mind that the negotiations for this agreement which we are putting on a legislative footing as part of this legislation did not come about with, as we would have referred to previously, a thumping majority in the House. They came about with a careful and measured negotiated position led by the Minister with no small help from the main Opposition party, which has also shown responsibility about how this legislation has been brought to where it is today. Deputy Mattie McGrath rightly pointed out that there are some Opposition parties that did not even turn up for this debate. It tells us an awful lot about their commitment to the restoration of public service pay. The cheap seats in the Opposition and those who flunked their responsibility regarding providing a Government in this country have again regurgitated, as they have done in previous debates, the same old tired mantra about how there should be money for everything even though there might be a budget for nothing. This really is not what the people outside this House want to hear and it is certainly not something the public servants themselves want to hear.

I know this from personal experience because I was one of these newly qualified public servants in 2008 who went back and requalified and came out with many of my contemporaries to find a country that was banjaxed with little or no opportunities to get a job in the public service. During that period, we recognised that as newly qualified teachers, as I was, this was something that was going to be really difficult and painful but at the same time, we understood what we were getting into and that there would be a pathway to recovery once the economy began to recover. That pathway has been continued as part of the current agreement. The Minister has committed with the Department to continue discussions with those who are called the newly qualified to make sure a trajectory can be put in place during which that can be realised over time. It is not simplistic nor do I believe that anybody thinks it is simplistic, something that can just waved over or a place we can get to overnight. I do not think anybody really believes that. The most important thing that is believable is that there is a commitment from this Government and the Department in collaboration with the partnership model that is available with the unions to deal with this over time as the economy continues to grow. The continuing growth rates in the economy will be one of the main factors that will decide whether we are able to continue with agreements like this in the first instance. If we do not continue to have the rates of growth we have enjoyed over recent years, particularly in the recent past, we will not be in a position to deliver on the three years or subsequent to the three years which we are committing to in this legislation. That is very important.

It is also important to point out that it is not just the Government here providing restoration. Deputy Bríd Smith was right.

It is the only thing I agree with in her contribution. These are not pay rises; they are restorations. It is getting people back to a former situation over a period of time. That is not the only thing. There is also a major change to how we deal with superannuation, which also has to be recognised. The Minister said that in his opening remarks. It is a very welcome change because it makes the future pension requirements of public servants more sustainable. We will be able to budget for it, cost it and meet it. It was a looming problem for the Government for a period but, thanks to the work that has been done, which is enshrined in the Bill, we will be in a far stronger position to deliver it in future. There will be challenges ahead. As the agreement beds in and there are further negotiations and discussions, formal and informal, with the Government and Minister, there will be challenges. There is a strong blueprint now, however, to make sure we have sustainability into the future that gets us over this three-year hump and allows us to look at more ambitious programmes for public service pay restoration, in conjunction with the continued delivery of hours, extra work and responsibilities that are in place.

In addition, we will also grow our public services. The embargo is gone in many cases and we are able to reinstate people whose jobs could not be filled. The only reason we could do that is because we maintained industrial peace in our public services. I pay tribute to our public servants for that. As well as that, we were able to show the outside world, borrowers and lenders, that we were capable of keeping the doors of the country open and meet our international financial obligations. In that way, we made sure we could continue to borrow and access finances to keep our public services going.

The Bill is the next and very important step. There has been some delay in bringing it to the House, through no fault of the Department or the Minister, but it is a very important step. It is very important that the Bill is enacted before the end of the year because in doing so, it allows 1 January 2018 to happen in a completely different context from 1 January 2017. They are all very important. Deputies have said they will raise particular issues on Committee and Report Stages. They should bear in mind that it is a money Bill. The public servants who have signed up to it as part of the agreement are very anxious to make sure it is implemented. While there will always be challenges in legislation like this that unwinds some of the most difficult impositions by the State on public servants, it will never be idyllic overnight. However, it will certainly be a vast improvement on where we were. I urge Deputies to work with the Government, Minister and officials in the Department to make sure we can deliver on what is in the Bill in light of the continuing need for reform and continuing development of our public services. At the same time, we should make sure that we can show to the world that we have sound public services that are responsible and which always had the level of industrial peace their leadership in the unions maintained.

As a teacher, I encourage my former colleagues to look again at the agreement in place and to see what is on offer. I understand the difficulties and concerns, and I empathise with them because I am a teacher, but this is the best route available for teachers. Three unions are outside the framework of this agreement. When the legislation is passed, it will not mean the train leaves the station for people who want to demonstrate that they will adhere to the spirit of the agreement. As a teacher and somebody who knows the men and women on the front line who turn up every day and are really strong public servants, I encourage newly qualified teachers and those with long service to work with the Department and their leadership to ensure continued industrial peace that allows us to grow the economy and deliver more reform and improvements like those in this Bill.

I have some time remaining so my colleague in the Department, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael D'Arcy, will contribute on the Bill. I commend the Bill to the House. I compliment the work of the officials and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, for the leadership he has provided and the unions for the responsible nature in which they have taken to the Bill. It is a very progressive step forward for Ireland and our continued economic growth. Ultimately, nobody in the House has a monopoly on concern for our public servants. We are all here trying to do our best by public servants because we are all public servants and we all work hand in glove with them. We want to make sure that what we do is realistic and sustainable and does not in any way heighten expectations we cannot deliver on. I add my support to the Bill.

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