Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister and I welcome the Bill. As the Leas-Chathaoirleach resumes the Chair, I wish to express my appreciation of the constructive tone of his speech which was somewhat in contrast to the blustering, partisan tone of one or two earlier contributions. The very substantial increase of €530 million in spending in this area is among the highest in recent years. I calculate that this translates into approximately £417 million, by way of comparison.

It is important to point out the great improvements achieved in social welfare in recent years in the context of social partnership. I am disappointed to see the continuation of those arrangements appearing to be at some risk this morning. Social partnership has contributed greatly to social cohesion. It has provided a focus on the full range of issues and has enabled us to maximise the resources available for social spending. I cannot envisage how a free-for-all will improve matters and it is far more likely to result in a disimprovement.

Given that, for the present at least, employers and trade unions are locked in a stand-off, the wider interests of community, society and the country should be borne in mind. Realism is called for on all sides. In my view, it is as unrealistic for employers to expect a total strike-free environment as it is for unions to expect every worker to belong to a trade union. While I am not criticising those who aspire to get as close as possible to either of those ideals, I do not accept failure to achieve utopia on one side or the other as a reason for abandoning social partnership. If we do not succeed in keeping social partnership agreements in place in the future, I am concerned as to whether the same resources will be available for social welfare and whether the number of recipients may be somewhat higher.