Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

The point I want to come to is that the programme dealt with the economic circumstances in Latvia which was rescued by the IMF. The IMF, as a condition of its support, sought and received a 35% decrease in public service salaries. When the IMF rescued Argentina, the number of people working in the public service was halved and the salaries of the other half were halved. If we do not join together to meet the challenges that exist, this will be the outcome for everybody. The unions, as partners within the social partnership structure, will have to accept that they have contributed to the problems to some extent and therefore have a responsibility to resolve them in a way——