Statement by Minister for Labour Affairs Dara Calleary TD at the Roscommon/South Leitrim Conference

The actions taken by the Government in the last two years to correct the public finances have been tough, but they are beginning to pay off.

Stabilising public finances and the financial system have been essential parts of the foundation for recovery.

Positive signs

A number of positive indicators in the past couple of weeks prove that the actions taken by the Government were the right ones to get Ireland out of recession.

The European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the EU Commission and the OECD are saying that we made the rights decision and that with continued resolve we can build a strong recovery.

There are many reasons to be positive:

• A return to 3 per cent growth next year has been predicted by the European Commission;
• Exports are rising;
• Consumer confidence is rising, for example car sales were up by 95 per cent last month;
• International confidence is returning to our banking system; Bank of Ireland recently attracted €3.4 billion in private capital;
• The latest Exchequer show public finances are stabilising; tax revenues and public spending are in line with expectations and shows that we are meeting the targets set on Budget Day.

There is no doubt people have experienced hardship over the past two years.  The cuts in spending have hit every home at some level or another.

But when compared with other countries affected by the global recession, we are showing signs of recovery at quite an early stage and this is very encouraging.

Crunch time for Croke Park Deal

The Public Sector Transformation Deal was agreed a month ago. Known as the ‘Croke Park’ agreement, it is a roadmap for the very necessary transformation of the public sector in Ireland.

It is not just a pay deal; it offers a lot of important and positive changes for work practices within the sector such as promotion based on merit and job security until 2014.

The Government has provided clarifications on some points in the deal in the past week and I hope that this process will help union members make their decision.

Public servants have already made a very significant contribution to the recovery of the economy already through the pension levy and the pay reductions, and I sincerely acknowledge that.

However, now I believe that a fair deal is on the table and I hope that people will consider the positives when deciding which way to cast their ballot.

Labour Party posturing

The support from Fine Gael for the adoption of the Deal is very welcome. This is an issue of national importance and their public backing of the deal is important.

Equally, the continued posturing of the Labour Party on this subject is unacceptable.

Wanting to be everything to every person is not leadership, its populist politics and it has no place in the serious times in which we are living. Tough times require leadership.

 To say that the transformation of the public service is ‘none of their businesses’ is a cop out on behalf of Labour Party representatives.

I consider the necessary stabilising of the public finances and the necessary change in the public sector work practices to be in everyone’s interests, so I consider it to be everyone’s business.

I am reiterating my call on Eamon Gilmore and the rest of the Labour Party to come off the fence and to back this deal.

ENDS