Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Iarraim ar an Cheannaire díospóireacht ar an tseirbhís phoiblí sar i bhfad. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the public service. It is appropriate that we would have such a debate at an early stage. The current industrial action has politicised the public service for the first time. It corrupts the delivery of the public service. The whole ethos of the public service, which is there to serve the public generally, is being set aside in pursuit of self-interest. It needs to be debated. Unfortunately, we have seen a huge increase in the cost of our public service. In 1998, the cost of the public service was between £7 billion and £8 billion, or approximately €9 billion. Last year, the cost of the public service was in excess of €20 billion. Some 220,000 people, including pensioners, were on the public service payroll in 1998. That figure is now 370,000. There is no way this country can continue to afford that cost. The whole system will collapse if strong action is not taken immediately. Intelligent people in the public service are well aware of this. The reduction in salary, which saved between €1.2 billion and €1.3 billion, was really only a small proportion — less than 25% — of what needs to be achieved in cost-effective measures. We need to look at it to see what we can do. Should parts of the public service be privatised? Should much of it be rationalised? Senator Mary White spoke about the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. We have had an enormous increase in the number of quangos, but very little rationalisation. I have no doubt that many of them were established with a motivation of jobs for the boys. It was not jobs for the boys politically.