Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I do not believe it is achieving what it sets out to achieve. Having said that, I completely agree with the objectives of the people taking industrial action. I remind the House that before Christmas many of us on this side of the Seanad and indeed some Members on the Government side such as Senator MacSharry, called for talks on a regular basis to hammer out an agreement. Many backbenchers, including Fianna Fáil Members, told the Government to walk away from it, so it got what it wished for. Remember, when the budget came out, we said these lower paid civil servants were being very poorly treated, and we should not forget that. Let us also keep remembering that while all this is going on in Molesworth Street, as the Minister, in fairness, said on the radio this morning, this is the most efficient Passport Office of any capital city in Europe. That is the truth of the matter. That is what we had and it is what we walked away from.

I hear people asking why they do not have the decency to go on strike. Such people will get their strike as soon as they want it. It will happen, and then we shall see where we stand. If the fire services goes on strike people will have to find something new to say, such as "sack them". There are people who would, strategically, welcome the Government sacking people now. That would allow people without a strategic purpose on the other side to move this forward. The reality is that unless a deal is hammered out and agreed, there will never be peace. People in this House have been saying this for months, including my colleague, Senator Buttimer, and others in all parties. Rather than saying, in effect, "let them go on strike" or "have them sacked" or "let's take on this crowd", there is one simple question to be answered, namely, where we are all going to be when the music stops. We are heading into serious trouble and as with any other issue it can never be solved with brute force from either side.

Whereas I have difficulty as regards what is going on in the Passport Office, I have complete sympathy with the objectives of the people taking industrial action. I do not believe they should be going about it this way, but I understand their frustration and objectives. Bear in mind that it is not just those workers, but also the fire service, the police, nurses and all the different groups that have to be heard, one after another. To hark back to what we heard in the bars, lounges and among ourselves two months ago, about there being no appetite for strike in the public sector and so they should be taken on, of course there was no appetite for strike. Nobody wants a strike, but they will if they believe they are being trampled on. They believe they have been badly treated and a deal is on offer to the Government in Government Buildings. I again appeal to the Government to show leadership and take the risk involved in such an initiative towards ensuring a calm and peaceful public sector which delivers efficiency, productivity and good value to the taxpayer. That is on offer now to the Government and it should accept it.