Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

No system should pay people who do not perform. I know that within the public service there are people who have opted out for whatever reason, such as disappointment over not being promoted or a lack of motivation. One of the great problems in the public service is the security of jobs for life. This should not be the situation. People should be paid and their jobs should be dependent on economic issues and on continuing to perform. Many safeguards are in place to ensure this is not abused by employers in the private sector. Perhaps the time has come to do likewise in the public service.

The Lindsay tribunal dealt with the HIV scandal. Of all the tribunals and scandals in this country over the last decades, without any shadow of a doubt, this was certainly the most significant and the worst. Nobody has been held to account and nobody is in jail because of it. People cannot be insulated.

My argument was unwittingly underscored by Senator O'Toole when he referred to benchmarking as almost akin to visiting the ATM. The only difference between it and you and I visiting the ATM is the arrival of the bank statement which shows a deposit must be made subsequently to meet the money extracted. In this instance the money is coming out of the taxpayers' pockets. The system needs the introduction of some reality. We owe this to ourselves and to people within the public service who are performing exceptionally well; these people could in the private sector achieve much more enhanced economic benefit for themselves but are committed to public service.

Perhaps the time has come to establish a ministry of modernisation of the public service. One of the first places to start might be in the Department of Health and Children where some significant problems exist. I am aware that I have been critical in my comments but it needs to be said. I am glad the debate tonight has not divided along party political lines but instead the subject has been dealt with constructively. The Department has Ministers in whom I have the utmost confidence when it comes to dealing with the issues in the best interests of society, the public at large and the public service. I wish them well.