Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

To compensate, we abolished the first three increments. The starting pay of a teacher is ¤32,000. When compared to the starting pay of other graduate entrants in other professions, it is not a bad rate. Added to this, those affected most by the downturn are those who bought a house during the boom who are up to their oxters in debt that will never be redeemed, not new entrants looking to buy a house now. The former are the ones with crucifying mortgages on houses which are worth half of what they paid for them and often are unsuited to their family circumstances. The 35 to 45 year old category is the one on which we need to focus.

I have asked for a mechanism to be put in place to remove difficulties for small and medium-sized enterprises involved in public procurement processes. With recruitment, when I took office, one of my first actions was to change the top level appointments committee, TLAC, which met with some resistance. There is now a majority of non-civil servants, with an external chairman and every interview board has an external majority. By the way, the TLAC is very willing to discuss its work with the Seanad.

Senator Sean D. Barrett spoke about the control of public expenditure and the entitlement culture. I understand this, but it is extremely difficult to square the circle. We are cutting money, reducing numbers and providing more services for more people because of demand. There are more medical cards, more children in school and more elderly persons, but we are providing services with fewer resources. Squaring that circle and keeping industrial peace are a challenge. The focus will be on outcomes.