Shane Ross (Independent)

I choose my subjects. This subject has been difficult for political parties for good political reasons. It has also been an easy one for us, as Independents, to tackle for good political reasons. It has been difficult to tackle because of the power of the social partners to which Senator Brady referred. The public service unions have wielded incredible power in this country. The most powerful group outside the Houses of the Oireachtas is the public service unions. Benchmarking is one more concession to their enormous power. It is difficult for politicians to resist that power because in that group are extremely sensitive and powerful lobbies such as nurses, gardaí and teachers who can place immense pressure on them. It is my contention that the almost unanimous support for benchmarking –it was unanimous in both Houses for a while – came about as a result of that pressure. I applaud that Fine Gael has taken the courage to resist that pressure. They will pay a price for that but it may not be a price without benefits because the polls show a large minority taking the same position as them on this. It is a difficult road to go and I applaud them for taking it.

It is my contention, perhaps because I am more cynical and do not have the same ties and constraints or pressures on me, that benchmarking was, from day one, a bit of a ready-up. It was the insiders deciding something which was inevitable. It took them an extraordinarily long time to reach their conclusions, conclusions which many had predicted within 1% in its original form before it was set up. I accept some of what the Minister said about the members of that body being people of integrity although it is a bit rich to say that because a High Court judge was in charge everything is all right. I do not accept that. High Court judges are not perfect people without prejudices. The benchmarking body was not, as the Minister stated, an independent committee. It was full of social partnership junkies, people who were committed to it in the first place. It was stuffed with IBEC, trade union officials and, in particular, public service trade unionists. What conclusion could they have reached other than an agreement which suited the public service?