Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach's criticism of me personally is water off a duck's back. I am interested in what the workers think of my role in this dispute. I am not interested in what the Taoiseach thinks in this dispute, and that is where I will take my lead and my guidance from.

For the matters at hand, I have spoken about the need for a settlement before Christmas. I want to speak now about the need for a just settlement. The Taoiseach knows as well as I do that this is not getting the statutory. This is about them getting more than the statutory. That is what they are campaigning for. At the start of September, an offer was made to the workers that would be the statutory plus the sum of €1 million. The Taoiseach knows and I know that this was rejected out of hand at the start of September by those workers. The very fact that the Government set up talks, negotiation and arbitration with Kevin Foley etc. presupposes the idea that there would be an offer put on the table which would not simply be better than that but would be significantly better than that. What is the point if a proposal that is significantly better than that cannot be put on the table? Its being set up at the end of November, with calls ringing in the Taoiseach's ears that this be settled before Christmas so that those women and those workers could spend Christmas at home with their families, presupposed the idea that this would be resolved before Christmas. Time is ticking. I believe the obstacle here lies not with the workers and not with KPMG but with the Government, irrespective of what the Taoiseach might say about my role in the dispute.

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