Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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10. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the negotiations between the Labour Relations Commission and the public service unions that have taken place since the rejection of the Croke Park II proposals. [24670/13]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Government is committed to finding the necessary pay bill savings of €300 million for 2013 and €1 billion by end 2015. We have always maintained that the preferred option was to deliver the necessary savings by agreement.

As the Deputy will now be aware, on foot of the rejection by the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, of the Labour Relations Commission, LRC, proposals negotiated in February of this year, the Government had asked the commission's chief executive, Mr. Kieran Mulvey, to initiate discussions with various public sector unions and representative associations on whether there was a basis for a negotiated agreement for achieving the necessary savings.

We have always indicated we were prepared to show the necessary flexibility around how savings could be achieved. That flexibility was availed of by some unions during the first set of discussions which took place earlier this year and again during the most recent LRC process.

Mr. Mulvey and his team have been engaged in intensive discussions with the parties over recent weeks and he has kept me fully informed of developments. Those discussions concluded on Monday last and unions now have draft proposals for agreement for consideration under their own rules and procedures.

The Government is pleased with the outcome of the LRC process. I thank all those involved in the talks, particularly the LRC which facilitated the discussions. It provides us with an opportunity to achieve the necessary savings, to afford the protection of a collective agreement to public servants and to provide industrial peace in the public service at a crucial time for our economy.

As I have stated, if these proposals are accepted, it will be possible to achieve the required savings and achieve major increases in public service productivity to secure the necessary reduction in the public service pay and pension bill. The essential elements and protections of the existing public service agreement will also remain in place and industrial peace in the public service can be secured at a critical time on our path to economic recovery.

Also today, I published legislation to give effect to the pay reduction for those earning over €65,000, the parallel reduction in public service pensions and other contingent measures to enable the Government achieve its savings requirements in the event of non-ratification of collective agreements. Obviously, unions can opt out of the collective agreement if they so wish.

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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The financial emergency measures in the public interest will enshrine these pay cut proposals from the Government. Can I put it to the Minister that it is misnamed legislation? The public interest suggests the majority interest of ordinary people but this is in the interest of continuing the bailout of bankers and bondholders at the expense of public sector workers and continuing the flow of money to the former. Has the Minister reflected on the bullying and the badgering he has engaged in over the past two months? He has threatened public sector workers that, unless they swallow these cuts, they would be savagely implemented anyway. Following the clear rejection of these proposals, he continued with this, suffering from what I call the Lisbon treaty syndrome where the Government does not accept a democratic outcome but threatens awful repercussions.

Will the Minister agree there is an alternative of putting a progressive tax on the 5% of top earners, introducing a financial transaction tax and a wealth tax? From these, he could get far more than the €1 billion he is now trying to rob from low and middle-income workers in various ways.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Setting aside the politics of it and focusing on the process, will the Minister not pre-empt and subvert the ballot of workers which is likely to take place in the next week by demanding that amendments for this Bill are submitted by tomorrow at 11 a.m? The workers have not looked at it and neither have Members.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry, Deputy, but that is not for the Minister to decide but for the House.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The process of legislation is a matter for the House, not for me.

Deputy Higgins is in a poor position to demand people accept a democratic decision since there are various charges, taxes and levies decided by the elected representatives of the people against which he himself campaigns.