Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I must confess that in or around 1984, at a time when Fianna Fáil was in opposition, many on the fifth floor of Leinster House were sporting the motto, "We back the miners". At the same time, I am not a great admirer of presidents for life in any sphere, be it political or trade union. However, the point I was making in reply to Senator Harris who I believe argued yesterday that the same approach needed to be adopted as that which was applied by Mrs. Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch was that I fundamentally disagreed with such an approach. I believe Mr. Murdoch's principal publication was popularly known as "the Wapping Liar". The entire purpose of social partnership is to avoid the destructive trade union conflict that had taken place in Britain during the mid-1980s. It is to strike a different path; the Industrial Relations Act 1990 which was introduced by the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, when Minister for Labour, was consensual legislation rather than an imposition. If this can be achieved, it is by far the best way to do so. Speaking for myself and I hope the Government, I have no interest in beating or defeating trade unions. The Government wishes to work and co-operate with them. They have good ideas on the way ahead and I hope it will be possible to get together. However, I also accept Senator Alex White's comments on certain realities and perhaps a cooling-off period is required.

As with the pension levy, the Government was obliged to do what it had to do. I went into this subject at some length in the other House and will not do so here, but trade unionists should recall that public service numbers, pay and conditions improved vastly, particularly between the years 2000 and 2007. There were several steps forward and I acknowledge we now must take a couple of steps back because they were not sustainable. Far from wishing to dismantle anything, the Government seeks to keep as many as possible of the gains made. However, there are times when one must take a couple of steps back. I hope there may be more understanding of this in the months ahead, as well as a greater understanding of the wider context in which Ireland is operating, namely, as part of the eurozone and a member of a hard currency zone. This is not the first time there have been pay cuts. While there have been many pay cuts previously, they have been disguised by inflation and devaluation. Consequently, this position is not as new as it appears. However, I accept it may take people time to adjust to the reality of the manner in which we must go about things today.