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

I want to lend my voice to the points others have made on this. We are supposed to be a free country. People should have the right to express their views and vote for or against a pay agreement. What the Minister has already proposed and what is already happening is that people who vote against this agreement are penalised by slower restoration of pay. There is no justification for this further punishment and targeting of people who have chosen, as is their democratic right, not to accept a pay agreement. It is true to say, and I put it to the Minister, that limiting people's increments is outside the scope of the pay agreement and should therefore be outside the scope of this legislation too. I cannot see any justification for that other than a fairly ruthless attempt to coerce people into accepting what the Minister wants them to accept. By any kind of standards in a free country, that kind of approach by Government is unacceptable. That is why I believe Members of this House should have no choice but to reject this section. It is not acceptable that public sector workers would be coerced into a situation where they are particularly and deliberately penalised for a legitimate choice they make. It is not acceptable and I urge the Minister to withdraw that threat.

See this speech in context