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

I will not comment on any potential agreement or disagreement. We have an agreement that is laid out in text and the Government and I are honouring everything laid out in it. Work is under way on the issue of new entrant pay and I have updated the House on some key points in that regard. The Public Service Pay Commission is engaged on the issue in the context of recruitment and retention within the health service. I will deal with all of the issues that emerge from both processes when they are complete. However, I emphasise to the House that we cannot say, on the one hand, that we need to ensure the public finances are managed in a stable way and that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past, while telling ourselves, on the other, that we can meet every individual demand. We will not be able to meet the needs of every group with which we are engaging. We have a public service pay agreement for three years and it is in year one. We are committed to engaging with everyone in good faith, but if we are saying we need to keep the public finances stable and ensure we can afford to meet the commitments we have made, we have to understand there are responsibilities which come with that. I am committed to discharging those responsibilities, as I am sure the Deputy is too.

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