Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

Senator Callely may have misunderstood some of what I said. If one has people working for one or if one works with people, one must negotiate with them, regardless of what one may think of their points of view. A position must be reached. As it stands, Government policy in dealing with this issue is purely to make cuts. All negotiations between public sector unions and the Government are off. That has been stated mainly by the union side but it is quite clear from the Government side as well.

There is no doubt cuts were necessary but there is a long-term problem here. This budget has not solved the problem and it will continue for the foreseeable future. Some form of negotiation must be entered into. We must continue the modernisation of the Civil Service and the public service in order to make them work. Perhaps Senator Callely is being political by making glib remarks.

The Minister must accept that negotiations must resume with the public sector unions because the modernisation process must be accelerated. There must be a sense of trust on both sides. There was an acceptance, to some degree, by the union management, the Government and the Opposition that cuts were necessary but by moving ahead unilaterally, the Government has created a huge industrial relations problem.