Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Cathaoirleach I will not take very long. I support the Labour Party motion and congratulate the party Members for bringing it forward. A time has come for some form of social partnership again. It served us well through the years, albeit, as mentioned by Senator Gavan, with some downsides, including the lost ability to negotiate in a tough way at local level. Whatever way we go forward, we must try to find the best of both worlds.

I condemn the management of these semi-State bodies who put Ministers on the line playing the game. That is exactly what has gone on here. I am not going to stand here and criticise the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport or anybody else. The line Minister in charge, when these issues arise, should tell the managing bodies to get in and stay in until a solution is found rather than expecting the Minister to bring a solution. That is the one message that failed to come across. I did not want to see the Minister riding in on a white horse with a cheque book but I wanted to see the shareholders saying to the company that its representatives should negotiate until they found a solution.

Workers in this country have given a huge amount to save the country. We have watched them suffering at all levels. People have not had pay rises in more than eight years and it is a pity we are bringing Dublin Bus into the debate as industrial relations issues should be left in the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. However, I must support the motion being brought forward by the Labour Party because I agree with what it is trying to achieve. I will not take any more of the Minister's time and I will just say that we really must get back to dealing with workers and ensuring they have decent jobs. This notion of part-time work in the form of zero-hours contracts has found its way into public service jobs as well as the private sector and it must be completely and utterly ruled out in the near future. I commend the Labour Party for bringing forward its motion. I regret I cannot support the amendment by the Sinn Féin Party on this occasion.