Margaret Cox (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to debate this motion and the amendment. When I read the amendment I felt these words rang true and we needed to study what was happening under social partnership. I am committed to the concept of social partnership and believe it has been an integral part of the development of the economy and the so-called Celtic Tiger. However, social partnership is not without challenges and we must remember that, as every process develops, it must be regularly reviewed and, if necessary, adjusted to deal with changed circumstances. Every process is a circle and has a life-cycle.

The Taoiseach mentioned in his speech that there will be quarterly analysis of social partnership in the Seanad Chamber. It is important to have frank discussions that come from the bottom up so that Senators are briefed by the organisations as they would brief the people who sat in Government Buildings working on this document.

I was greatly concerned by the focus in the document on large employers. I run a small business and it sometimes feel as though such businesses are overlooked and forgotten, as if it is preferable to write grand, sweeping statements of policy with dramatic aspirations relating to what is to be achieved. It is worth remembering that the success of Ireland's economy is built on our small, indigenous industries and the commitment of the men and women, the mothers and fathers, who have worked in those small businesses. They created employment in hard times.

I read a briefing document supplied by the Irish Business and Employers Confederation which stated that 2 million people will be working in Ireland within a year or two. That is an amazing thought, but it comes with challenges. Some of the challenges that have not been addressed in this phase of social partnership relate to the over regulation of businesses. Running a business involves much filling of forms and discussing issues relating to health and safety, the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and so on. There is a regulation covering everything and employing staff has become more difficult, especially the area of recruitment. We are in danger of creating a veneer of equality which renders everyone so equal that nothing can be achieved. This is a dangerous situation because we need an open economy, one based on employers setting up businesses and being able to find workers. Otherwise, employers will relocate to other parts of the world. We must ensure we maintain a proper structure in the working environment and allow businesses to grow and thrive.

We have had discussions in this Chamber on the budget and how the Government has dealt with child care issues. There is agreement in this House on issues such as parental leave. When will we allow parental leave for the first year of each child's life to be paid through the social welfare system and how will we manage this? We need to focus on social partnership to make working life better for the entire, soon to be 2 million strong, workforce.

I welcome the focus in this document on health, house building and the lower paid but I am worried about the lack of attention paid to the imbalance between the east and west of the country. This applies especially to infrastructure. The Galway City outer by-pass will not receive funding until around 2012. That is not good enough. Social partnership will be of no use in the west when the scales have been skewed so much towards the east, with port tunnels and airports. All of the major roads to the East are toll free, except to those from the west of Ireland. This is a hindrance to the development and maintenance of employment and the success of businesses. We do not want a situation involving longer and longer queues of commuters and people getting up at 6 a.m. and returning home at 8 p.m. We must restore the balance and focus on regional infrastructure if projects such as decentralisation and balanced regional development are to work.

I am concerned by the overdependence on taxing not exports but the building industry, stamp duty on developments and so on. This is dangerous and we can create a false sense of security but if we do not pay attention to the value chain and how high value jobs are created throughout the country. Social partnership will not matter because there will not be enough jobs to protect.

A review mechanism is important as are frank and open discussions in this House. I look forward to participating in such discussions in the coming years.