Mary White (Fianna Fail)

Everybody knows what I mean. Some people are getting on well in their permanent and pensionable jobs, but many are not. Fixed-term contracts could be better in many ways for a company and the country. There is nothing wrong with them. A company is only in business as long as it has sales. We cannot look at it as exploitation of workers. There is little of that. Companies do not succeed unless the workers are working with them. Where management and workers work together the company succeeds. Those in management are also workers. All of them want to keep their jobs but fixed-term contracts might be better for the health of the company and the country.

I was shocked when I learned that over the last five years 50,000 people were added to the public sector pay bill. Is the Minister of State aware of that? I find it extraordinary that so many were employed by the public sector over that time. These are people who are permanent and pensionable for the rest of their lives when they might be better off with the opportunities offered by a contract.

It is good that Europe is forcing us into situations where we have to make change. I am an impatient person and would much prefer if we could drive these changes. Where would we be if we did not have all this legislation from Europe? I find it frustrating that social change takes place so slowly in comparison with change in business or technology. Technology is changing daily at a fast rate and to be competitive, efficient and encourage growth a business must change and keep pace with it.