Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House. I am happy to speak in support of the Government amendment. After many years of social partnership which have brought this country from the dire straits it was in during the 1970s and 1980s to its current position as one of the leading economic success stories in Europe and indeed the world, the benchmarking process which this Administration and the previous one have entered into will continue to improve the lives of ordinary people in this country, and keep us on the path which has proven to be so successful over the past ten or 15 years. I was glad to hear the opening speaker for Fine Gael concede that point.

The Irish public service to a great extent has made us what we are today. The December 2000 agreement, which is the basis for benchmarking, is a recognition of that fact. To quote the Minister for Finance at the time, this was the first time any attempt had been made to assess appropriate pay for all key public service grades by reference to pay for equivalent jobs in the private sector. This process was not entered into lightly. As has been pointed out, discussions have been taking place since 1998. The benchmarking body's report is a comprehensive analysis of the whole of our public sector in comparison to the private sector. After more than two years of intensive consultation and discussion with all the stakeholders, its conclusions have to be taken as a solid basis from which the future direction of our public service can be guaranteed for all our benefit.

The integrated approach adopted by the benchmarking body in comparing work and reward had among its main criteria "public service, modernisation, efficiency and effectiveness". There was all-party agreement on a commitment to development and modernisation frameworks. The benchmarking body also made it clear that any awards given, apart from those in the first quarter, were conditional on genuine output being delivered, and this was agreed by all parties involved in the negotiations. It was also made clear that an appropriate validation process had to be established to ensure issues such as change, flexibility and modernisation were fully implemented.

The establishment of the performance management and development system in the Civil Service and the linking of this system to any pay increases under any of the agreements, PPF or Sustaining Progress, will ensure the effectiveness of the agreement.

Since the establishment of the strategic management initiative within the Civil Service, huge strides have been made.