Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

Many public servants working here are involved in the bargaining process, which the trade unions were centrally involved in for the current public pay agreement. That collective pay agreement has brought industrial peace to our country relative to many other countries in Europe and elsewhere. It is important for that collaboration to continue.

The emphasis of the current public sector agreement is on lower paid workers, including teachers, nurses and others as they exit college. There are significant other supports that we are trying to ramp up in the context of the budget we set out last year, including the renter's tax credit.

The local bargaining mechanism is also an opportunity for trade unions to involve themselves in that process and the additionality that is available through it. The outworking of this pay agreement is providing significant increases to core pay when we consider the overall increases over a two-and-a-half year period. We want to continue that collective approach when it comes to pay and industrial policy.

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