Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 8, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following new subsection:

"(2) The Council shall, prior to the commencement of negotiation of agreements between the Government and the social partners, present to the Oireachtas an assessment of key strategic challenges relating to the efficient development of the economy and the achievement of social justice and set out a strategic framework for endorsement or amendment by the Oireachtas before the negotiations commence.".

This is the only amendment I tabled which has not been ruled out of order. It is an important amendment and Deputy Bruton brought this matter to the attention of the other House on Committee and Report Stages. I know the Government's position on this matter. We are sitting at a time when the potential of the next phase of partnership may or may not be realised. There is a type of brinkmanship taking place as to whether we will have a deal. Let us hope we have a deal because it would be good for everyone, whether employer or employee.

The significant issue of democratic accountability around this entire process should be provided for and we have the opportunity to do so in the context of this Bill. The Minister of State knows from my comments on Second Stage that I, and my party, are concerned about the failure of the Government to involve the Oireachtas in a meaningful and significant way in not only the pay talks, but in the entire partnership process. This amendment inserts a new subsection into section 9 which gives the Oireachtas a significant role in demanding that the Government of the day shall, prior to the commencement of negotiation of agreements between the Government and the social partners, present to the Oireachtas an assessment of key strategic challenges relating to the efficient development of the economy and the achievement of social justice and set out a strategic framework for endorsement or amendment by the Oireachtas before the negotiations commence.

It is crucial that before the Government of the day embarks on the process of negotiation in these deals, such an assessment is presented to the Houses of the Oireachtas and that each House has the opportunity to shape those discussions and the way in which the key ingredients to any such deal are put on the table. It is important it is done at the start rather than at the end of the process. There has been criticism that a resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas is not required for a partnership agreement to be ratified and that should be dealt with. However, our concern relates to the start of the process. Members of the Oireachtas should have an opportunity at the start of the process to put their views on the table in terms of what they hear in their constituencies and elsewhere and to shape the discussions and negotiations.

There is not a sufficient degree of ownership of the process within the Oireachtas. Significant powers of policy-making over a five-year or even a ten-year period have been conceded to the partnership process. It is often the case that not only Opposition Members but Government backbenchers feel frustrated by a process which seems to give so much power to a very small group of people even though they represent a significant number of people through the trade unions, employer groups and so on. Ownership of this process needs to be rooted in the Oireachtas. That is why it is very important that type of critical assessment is done at the start rather than at the end of the process.

The process has been insulated from the Oireachtas. While 15 Oireachtas Members play an important role in one of the research bodies in the process, the Oireachtas is not involved in a plenary session. It would be useful for the process if such an assessment were made.

We must re-engineer and refocus partnership so that all consumers of public services, such as parents and people who deal with the health service, have a vested interest in the process equal to that of the people who are paid to provide the service and their employers. This is necessary for partnership to succeed.

The process went badly wrong in the first benchmarking deal which was clandestine, had no accountability, and there were no genuine practical advances for consumers in terms of the service they would receive. That went wrong because the process was neither democratically constructed in, nor reported to, the Oireachtas. The critical issue is that we must make the process more consumer-focused and friendly so that those who need the public services feel their voice is respected and reflected in the process. We believe that our amendment achieves that end.

The last partnership deal included many commitments regarding social housing, none of which has been delivered. The Oireachtas does not undertake an effective survey of the implementation of this deal but is continually sidelined. Too often the vested interests within the process dominate it to the exclusion of the people to whom public services are delivered.

Our amendment puts the Oireachtas centre stage in this process and allows a better economic and strategic assessment of how we can shape the talks. We are more concerned about the start of the process than the end product, to ensure that the voice of the people is included, rather than that of those who represent one third of all workers or big business. The way to do that is to give the Oireachtas a key defining role in the start of each partnership deal. Accepting this new subsection would give the Oireachtas the kind of control we outline and would help the process.