Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

We live in difficult times. It is somewhat regrettable that the Civil Public and Services Union, CPSU, has become the first union to reject the Croke Park pay and reform agreement. The CPSU, which represents approximately 13,000 lower paid civil servants, voted against the proposals recently by 2:1. Two other Civil Service unions, the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants, AHCPS, and the Public Service Executive Union, PSEU, backed the agreement last week. Further ballot results from individual unions are expected in the coming weeks, although the final verdict of the public service unions might not be known until mid-June when the two largest unions, IMPACT and SIPTU, complete their ballots.

That the CPSU is leading the "No" side is regrettable. Some weeks ago, several colleagues in the Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party and I had the privilege of spending some time with Mr. Blair Horan, the CPSU's general secretary, who was directly involved in the Croke Park negotiations. I have always found him a voice of moderation in the trade union movement. I have had the pleasure of listening to him many times as he represented his union and the wider trade union movement as a member of the National Forum on Europe which, sadly, is no longer with us. That is a pity given the current climate in which there is much debate about our level of integration in the European model. The forum served a useful cause. The Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, was another member of the forum and made important contributions during its time.

I took two things away from our meeting with Mr. Horan. First, he believed his union executive would probably recommend acceptance. Second, he saw the recommendations in the Croke Park agreement as a significant advance for lower paid Civil Service workers who are represented by his union and an element of whom was involved in the Passport Office dispute. I asked him whether he believed that the larger unions had dumped on his union during the good years of benchmarking and that the pay gap between lower and medium to higher paid civil servants had widened to such an extent that his members believed they had no choice but to engage in industrial action. I sympathise with them. Like many Senators and others have done, if one followed the debate on the industrial action, it would have become apparent that many people working in the passport and social welfare offices were dealing with members of the public who were earning more money than them. It was ironic and sad, to some degree, that civil servants in the Department of Social and Family Affairs were giving out State money to people who were earning more money than them in their weekly wages. Of course they are angry and I empathise with them.

It is regrettable that the significant advance mentioned to us by Mr. Horan that afternoon does not seem to have convinced his union's broader membership to accept the deal. As he stated, the other unions agreed that the lower paid would be the first to benefit when the economy turned around. The signs of that turnaround exist and no one, not even the gainsayers, can deny the economic indicators coming not just from the Government but also from independent commentators. For all that, his members have rejected the deal. Mr. Horan has been quoted as saying the CPSU will wait to see what the other unions will do before taking a decision on where to go next. Not for the first time, he mentioned his belief that the deal can be renegotiated. It cannot. The strong message from the Government and the larger Civil Service unions is that what is on the tin is what people will get. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, will take the opportunity to reaffirm the Government's position on the agreement.

I do not wish to focus exclusively on Mr. Blair Horan and his union. It is, however, significant that the CPSU is the first union to reject the agreement. The members of the CPSU are the very workers the Government, in the form of the Croke Park agreement, is striving to assist. It is these individuals who have suffered the most. In such circumstances, it is regrettable that they have rejected the agreement.

It is a matter of concern that following 23 years of social partnership, trade unions entered the second decade of the 21st century in a seriously weakened position, with union employee density down to 31% compared to a density high point of 62% in the early 1980s prior to the series of seven corporatist social pacts. Union penetration is highly imbalanced, with a density approaching 80% in the public sector and approximately 20% in the larger private sector. Union members are now more likely to be over 45 years, married with children, Irish-born with third level qualifications and working in semi-professional occupations, particularly in the health, education and public administration sectors. This is in marked contrast to the traditional image of their being lower paid, vulnerable, low-skilled workers. That is why I share the view expressed by Members on all sides that we are privileged to have such a group of highly skilled, dedicated and well educated personnel within the civil and public service.

In the context of the fiscal corrections under way, approximately 35% of current public expenditure is required to fund the public payroll. As a result, the Government took a number of measures designed to reduce payroll costs to a significant degree. These measures include a pension-related reduction and various other budgetary items. The Government has also taken steps to reduce payroll costs by a further €1 billion in 2010. The pay cuts imposed range from 5% to 20% - averaging 6.5% - and were implemented through the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009.

People in my party are not inured to the reality faced by ordinary citizens. We completely accept that public servants have been obliged to endure difficult adjustments and that these have given rise to frustration which has been vented through industrial action. I accept that people are angry. However, regardless of whether they are members of trade unions or dependent on public service money to provide their livelihoods, Irish citizens are innately decent and accept that the Government had no choice but to take the decisions it has been obliged to take. They also accept that the Government has taken these decisions in the national interest. It is unfair to level the political charge at Fianna Fáil that its members have no sympathy for or understanding of the anger of ordinary workers. Fianna Fáil Deputies, Senators, councillors and activists live and work in the same communities as Members on the other side of the House. Political representatives from my party hear from people the same sort of stories related by those opposite. We are not any different in that regard. However, we do not have a choice.

I regret that a view is widely expressed on the opposite side of the House that the current difficulties are unique to Ireland. The financial crisis is being experienced across the globe. Last week we came close to financial meltdown. It is not fair for anyone to state the Fianna Fáil-led Administration should be blamed for this.