Eoghan Harris (Independent)

I wish to celebrate two bits of good news this week. First, I congratulate the leader of Fine Gael, Deputy Enda Kenny, on showing great courage in calling for a suspension of the current national agreement, which we cannot afford. Second, I welcome the Government decision to set up what has been wrongly called "an bord snip". It should be called "an bord snas". I do not believe in root and branch and slash and burn reform of the public sector. We need a bord snas, a polished public service, a lean, mean fighting machine in the great tradition of our public service of the 1930s and 1940s.

Many here will remember the great short story by Sean O'Faolain, The Fur Coat. In the story, set in the 1930s, the wife of the Fianna Fáil Minister — it could have been a Fine Gael Minister; it is difficult to tell in the story — wanted a fur coat for the cold winter and now her husband was a Minister he had the money for it. She went to Grafton Street for the coat, but came back without it because when she thought of the hard times and what people had to do for Ireland and of those who died for Ireland, she could not take the fur coat.

We need this old, frugal, wooden boots revolutionary kind of austerity back in our public service at every level, political and otherwise. I concur with Senator Ó Murchú in his call to be careful when doing the slash and burn. Senator Ross rightly revealed the bad or down side of public service. Senator Ó Murchú has rightly revealed the good side of the public service. It is difficult to know how to distinguish between those who deliver a day's work and those who do not, but that is what I hope the new task force will do. It must make that distinction and for that reason I am glad it has a timeframe and that it is not rushing in and seeking immediate reforms.

On the other hand, there are clearly some reforms that could be introduced immediately. The leader of Fine Gael, Deputy Kenny, has identified one. There could be a pause on the national wage agreement. We cannot afford to pay it. There could also be a pause on some of the more blatant wastage of public money. However, anyone who goes to a FÁS training centre, as I do every January, and walks into the great machine shops and sees local young men and women at the machines, could not doubt that here is a positive, productive and valuable side of the public service. It is such a productive service that I hope this new force, which I intend to call "an bord snas", will find out. It should promote and reward those who really are public servants and should ask the others to take early retirement. I will take Senator Alex White's question. While I do not wish to see anyone losing his or her job, nor do I wish to see people not doing a full day's work. Such people should be offered early retirement and no more people should be taken into positions in which there is no real work for them to do.