Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

Some 2,200 factory workers in the midlands were unable to work that day because inspectors could not inspect meat. We should put a cost on that. Some 45,000 people are now on hospital waiting lists because of that one day strike. We should put a price on that.

The backbenchers in Fianna Fáil rightly see there is a job to be done. It is now up to the leader of Fianna Fáil and he will show leadership in this regard. I call on him not to go down the proposed route and to produce a policy for the Civil Service and the public service. Now is the time to do that and not next year or the year after. A policy must be formulated and I support the backbenchers in this regard.