Joe O'Toole (Independent)

In the past few weeks I have spoken on a number of occasions about the possible outcome of the negotiations in Government Buildings. The two main objects for everybody are to reduce the public sector pay bill by €1.3 billion and decrease the number of public sector personnel by 15,000. It seemed as if they were two impossible objectives but now it appears the Government has managed to convince the social partners on all sides that this will be done. It seems clear also that there will be agreement.

I will make two clear points. Reducing public sector numbers by 15,000 will have an impact on services and require the remaining staff to increase productivity and work longer or smarter. A reasonable question was raised by Senator Fitzgerald but how will this proposal work in the education sector which appears to be receiving attention? Every year approximately 10,000 primary teachers take a five-day course during their summer holidays. In return, they are entitled to three privilege days during the course of the year. In other words, they give up 50,000 days and are entitled to 30,000 back during the course of the year. In our experience spanning decades teachers never take more than two thirds of the leave to which they are entitled. As has been noted in the House, for the first one, two or three days of sick leave, schools are not entitled to bring in a paid substitute. I give this information in order that Members can understand schools are structured to deal with the occasional absence of individual teachers. This will have to happen if the arrangement takes effect. It is not the ideal — I do not love it — but it is not new or novel.

Nobody has said how the public sector will work with 15,000 fewer staff. This is the first time we have seen anybody try to make it work smarter. I do not know if it will work but there is an outline of the process. The Government has taken the first step towards reducing the size of the public sector which will try to work with fewer staff. This is what all parties have asked for. The Government will save money and the strike has been averted. Pupils will not lose out and parents will not be discommoded but the service will be uninterrupted. There will be a reduction in public service numbers and we will arrive at the beginning of public sector reform.

This process squares a circle that in the past month or two people said would be impossible to do. The way forward is very difficult and it is a little unfair to call it a climb-down. Staff who would work for ten or 12 days without being paid did not see it that way last night when I spoke to them.