John Gerard Hanafin (Fianna Fail)

Many colleagues have referred to the proposed deal between the public service and the Government. I would like a debate on this issue when it is finalised. The Taoiseach said no deal would happen unless public services remained unaffected. The deal is predicated on public services being maintained at their current high level. However, the public service has stepped up to the mark and I hope there is a deal. Whether it is through the pension levy or the unpaid leave proposal, the public service is playing its part well in our current circumstances. There is a great deal of criticism of different functions of the public service, politics and the church. The majority of people want to do their work conscientiously and well, whether they are in banks or wherever, and it does not serve us well to make broad statements about the church. They are not the church; they are the antithesis of what the church is and what it should be. Similarly, there are excellent public servants in the public service and I hope this deal goes through so that we may all benefit in these difficult times until we see better times. The Government is spending hours, days, weeks and months to ensure the current budget is fair. That is all we can ask of it.