Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the amendment tabled by Deputy Dara Calleary. It is regrettable that we have to go to these lengths to raise policy issues and give this House an opportunity to express what I expect is a majority view. If we were permitted to express that view and a motion were tabled calling for the immediate restoration of full pay for new entrants, it would undoubtedly be carried by the House. One has to ask, therefore, why this democratic view is not allowed to be expressed here this evening in this debate. We are forced to abide by the Standing Orders that apply, which, as other Members have said, are extremely restrictive.

It is important to consider the backdrop to this debate. During very difficult times, when the country was in very severe economic difficulty, decisions were taken to introduce various austerity cuts. There is a very strong view that those cuts were introduced in a very unfair manner. Very often, the people who could least afford them were made to bear them. A cohort in comfortable financial circumstances was not affected to any great extent by the additional charges and taxes introduced in the austerity years.

A major embarrassment for much of the establishment during the time of the FEMPI cuts was the fact that so many of them went along with the idea of imposing even greater cuts on young public servants. In many ways, that was a shameful act. It was shameful on the part of the Government and also some of the social partners. It should not have happened. As a society, we are now paying a very significant price for it. A very large number of the younger generation feel very much let down and abandoned by their elders. Not only have they been saddled with very significant debt for the foreseeable future, not only was the housing situation brought to crisis point, where it continues, and not only do we not have properly funded public services but it is also the case that a cohort of younger public servants are expected to survive on significantly lower pay than their elders even though they are essentially doing the same work. To a large extent, they have the same living expenses, if not higher. This was a shocking act of betrayal for the younger civil servants and public servants generally. It is one reason so many people in their 20s and early 30s are working in London, Canada and Australia. They feel very alienated by the actions of the establishment in this country. They feel very let down and abandoned. That is a very dangerous situation for the country to be in. I stress to the Government that it and the establishment are obliged to make up to those people and right the wrongs that were done to them.

Unequal pay is a glaring anomaly. It is a glaring example of unfairness imposed on the younger generation and it continues under this legislation and the public service stability agreement. In normal circumstances, this should be very welcome legislation. It should be about reversing the FEMPI cuts in a fair and balanced manner. It does not do so. The public service stability agreement accords only a certain amount of priority to people on low pay. The unwinding of the FEMPI legislation for people earning in excess of €70,000, up to €150,000 and more, is happening quite quickly. On any grounds of fairness, there should be a longer delay in restoring pay for people at the higher end in order to speed up the restoration of pay for people at the lower end. Included in that, of course, should be the younger public servants.

This is not a good news story because it continues to leave behind and compound the wrong that was done to younger public servants. This agreement should be welcomed by all the unions representing public servants but it is not. The Minister is trying to implement a separate set of conditions for those who are not covered by the pay deal. We still live in a democracy and people should be able to express their view on whether they support a pay deal. Whatever about people who vote against a pay deal not being covered entirely by the provisions of the deal, the Government is going much further. It has very much set out to punish those people and unions that have not accepted the pay deal. That is completely unacceptable.

The unions did not refuse to sign up because they wanted more money. That is a very important point. It was not the reason the three teacher unions and Unite voted against the pay deal. They refused to sign because they wanted a fair deal for new entrant colleagues. That is a very legitimate demand to make. We have all talked to teachers all over the country who have made the point to us that they could not possibly continue to work alongside their younger colleagues and sit in staffrooms with them while they have been sold down the river by this pay deal. In fairness to and in solidarity with teachers' younger colleagues, the teacher unions voted against the pay agreement. They were right to do so because the treatment of young entrants is absolutely indefensible. It would have created all kinds of difficulties, strains and stresses within workplaces if the older teachers had continued to abandon their new entrant colleagues.

This legislation leaves over 50,000 so-called "new entrants" on unequal pay scales with nothing but a promise of a review of their circumstances. A couple of meetings have taken place but they have not really got anywhere, as far as I can see. It is not adequate to respond to younger people in this way. They were very badly treated during the austerity years and there is now a need to make up for it.

The ASTI, the TUI, the INTO and Unite have rejected this deal. The teacher unions have specifically cited pay equality as a reason. It is not because they are greedy or looking for more. It is estimated that a teacher appointed in 2011 has already lost over €26,000 in earnings due to the two-tier pay scale. That is indefensible. We should not continue to stand by it. This matter will not be addressed regardless of whether those concerned are party to the pay deal. It is important to point that out.

It is simply not good enough to attempt to plámás new entrants by promising them an examination of the pay scale within 12 months, particularly when the examination will apply only to new recruits covered by this agreement. One has to ask why young entrants should be forced to wait a further 12 months to even begin having the circumstances examined.

The affected generation is constantly forced to bear the brunt of its elders' mistakes.

Now they are expected to continue to work on an unequal footing with their colleagues in order that the Government can claim that it has unwound the FEMPI legislation, but that is not the case. It is only the beginning of the process of addressing the impact of the FEMPI legislation on those affected by it.

It is all very well to say the Government has made savings in this area, but we are paying a very big price for it. It is only a couple of years since we had such a glut of teachers that there were not enough jobs for the number of qualified teachers available in the country, but now the position has changed completely. There is a serious shortage of teachers across the various sectors. We hear school principals talk on a regular basis about the difficulty in recruiting substitute teachers or say that even in cases in which there is a permanent post available the level of interest in applying for it is very low. We also regularly hear complaints from school principals that three, four or five members of staff have taken a career break and gone to work in Dubai or Abu Dhabi simply because they cannot survive on the reduced pay scales. We have an entire generation of teachers who are affected, but other public servants are also affected. They can no longer have the aspirations and dreams others have and that their parents would have had in getting to a point where, having qualified for a professional job, they are doing the job but find the remuneration is not adequate to enable them to live a reasonable life. The housing crisis plays centrally into this, but even allowing for it, it is extremely difficult for young public servants who are forced to accept unequal pay to have a decent lifestyle which would them to aspire to owning their own home or even renting a decent house, starting a family and doing the things their parents did. They can no longer aspire to doing the same things as them.

The actions of their elders have alienated an entire generation of younger public servants, which is shameful. What we should be doing as a matter of urgency to establish our faith with that generation of young people is moving immediately to restore the pay cuts they were obliged to suffer and which they continue to suffer. It is wholly inadequate to suggest to them that there will be discussions on the matter in a year's time and that we will consider how it is to be done. For that reason, I very much support the amendment, but we should be going so much further. I believe the democratic will of a clear majority in the House favours a full restoration of pay for those who are forced to continue on unequal pay scales.

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