Joe O'Toole (Independent)

Following on from the point made by the Leader of the Opposition, I agree the House should discuss what is happening in Greece but perhaps from a different perspective. Like their counterparts in Greece, Irish workers are also extraordinarily angry and resentful and morale is low in both the public and private sectors. The Croke Park agreement is an attempt to deal with the situation in the public sector. We should look at what is happening. The global mismanagement of the economies of the world has found expression on the streets in Athens, with three people dead today. This is because people were not given a way of dealing with it. The need for the House to discuss the elements of the Croke Park agreement so that people can understand it has been raised in the House on many occasions by Senator MacSharry, Senator Buttimer and me. There is a great deal of misinformation and incorrect information about it. Many ordinary public sector workers believe they have no choice, that voting "No" is their best protection and that if they vote "Yes", changes will be imposed. We need to explain to them that what is involved in this agreement is change by negotiation, not imposed change. We need to show them that voting "No" offers no protection whatever but is simply a case of walking away from decisions that have to be made by Government without the input of the unions or others. There is a debate but I do not want to go into it now. Rather than allow things fall apart and find expression, I want Ministers to come to the House, bolster the agreement by showing their bona fides and their commitment to both the spirit and the letter of the agreement and to fight with it and for it.