Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I repeat the call I made last week for an early debate on right to life issues, including abortion and euthanasia. I note that the Irish Medical Organisation has produced a document on such matters. The related subject of capital punishment was raised last week by the former president of the High Court, Mr. Justice Richard Johnson. It is important for us to debate such matters at an early stage. The Houses of the Oireachtas should set the trend for the direction in which we will go on all of these issues.

I join Senator O'Toole in calling for a debate on competitiveness in the context of the forthcoming budget. I suggest that such a debate should take place next week, rather than in the first week of December. It would be opportune to discuss the matter as public servants are protesting outside this building. I often visit the John F. Kennedy memorial arboretum for a walk. It is in a nice area just outside New Ross. When I visited it last weekend, I was shocked and a little hurt when the person working on the gate told me he is anxious to get out of that position. I understand he earns €31,000 per annum. He said he is getting abuse as a result of the divide between the public and private sectors.

We need to inject some facts into this debate. Those who will gather outside this gate next week are probably oblivious of the comparisons that can be made to show that we have lost our competitiveness. I refer to people in the public service, particularly civil servants. Junior clerks in this jurisdiction are paid between €40,000 and €50,000 per annum. An official in the corresponding position in Northern Ireland is paid between £18,000 and £19,000. Last week, I came across the case of a person with a law degree who is qualified as a solicitor. He is paid £19,000 per annum as a court clerk in the High Court in Northern Ireland. We have allowed salaries and wages in the private and public sectors to get out of line. If something drastic is not done about it, this country will not be able to compete, the economy will not recover and the IMF will have to take decisions that will be extremely hard on everyone. We need to play our part by providing for moderate reductions in salary rates.