Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of my colleagues in Fianna Fáil, I pass on the sympathy of my party on the recent death of former Deputy Harry Blaney who represented County Donegal with such great distinction. Niall, his son, another former Deputy, is a friend of mine. The service will be held tomorrow. I thank Harry and his family for their dedication and service to the State over many generations.

Will the Leader ask the Minister for Finance about the status of the Mercer report on bank pay and conditions? I asked him last week to obtain a commitment from the Government that the proposed cuts of between 6% and 10% would be heavily weighted against the executives and board members of the two pillar banks and Permanent TSB, the banks over which we have control. Over the weekend I noted with great interest the statement of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, that bankers' pay should be cut substantially at executive level. I agree wholeheartedly, but I cannot marry his comment with the fact that he decided to abstain from voting on the pay of executives in Bank of Ireland. The Minister, on behalf of the people, holds a 15% stake in that bank, yet he chose to remain silent despite the fact that senior executives in the bank will have pay packages of over €800,000. The governor of the Bank of Ireland who works in a part-time capacity has a pay packet of nearly €500,000. The Government decided it had no opinion on it. While it was great to read his opinion in the Irish Independent on Saturday that the levels of pay were unsustainable, why, then, did he not use his vote on behalf of the people when the remuneration package was put to the shareholders of Bank of Ireland last week? I am still at a loss to understand why.

Will the Leader update the House and arrange a discussion on the negotiations on Croke Park II which was an abject failure? The Government, including the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, in particular, failed completely to allow and enable a deal to be done with the trade unions. This is the first time in 25 years we have not been able to bring the trade unions in the public sector on board. After the vote resulted in defeat, I welcomed the fact that the Minister had put Mr. Kieran Mulvey in charge to talk to the union side and determine whether we could move forward in some way. The Government gave Mr. Mulvey two weeks and within three days it was briefing against the public sector. Again, there were threats that it would cut pay and pensions. There was a threat of a 7% arbitrary cut across the board and the threat to job security is being made again. Why can the Minister and others not just keep their mouths shut and let the negotiations happen in a respectful manner and in private? Three days after the appointment of Mr. Mulvey to try to bring forward a resolution and a way forward, the Government was briefing against the public sector. The public sector carries out an extremely important role. I include gardaí, firefighters, teachers, nurses and staff in all Departments. How in God's name can one expect to get a deal if one is threatening people with a 7% cut across the board? That is not the way to do business. In the next couple of weeks I would like the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to explain in the House the Government's position. I again formally call on the Government to withdraw the threat of an arbitrary cut of 7% across the board should a deal not be reached.