Opposition TDs take aim at Taoiseach over public sector pay

The Government is responsible for any disruptions to vital services during a planned public sector strike next week, according to opposition TDs.

Speaking at Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil on Tuesday, TDs took aim at Micheál Martin over the Government’s prioritisation of bonuses for heads of semi-state agencies, rather than a pay agreement with public sector workers.

Union members announced on Monday they are preparing for a 24-hour national walkout on November 12, which will coincide with the largest event of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

A rank-and-file Garda work-to-rule is also planned in the days around the event in a dispute over their working conditions.

Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said that the Government’s handling of the talks with public servant workers has been an “unmitigated disaster”.

“For most of the year, you ignored them, barely bothering to engage before the current pay deal expired in June. This intransigence and arrogance blew up in your face and resulted in the biggest public service strike in nearly two decades,” he said.

“What is your government at? You’ve been all over the place all year. You’ve treated public service workers with barely disguised contempt. You allowed the previous deal to expire.

“Your intransigence achieved absolutely nothing. Taoiseach, there are public service workers who are barely keeping their heads above water. If there is another strike next week, it will be the fault of your government.

“Your government has spent more time on internal bickering and rivalries than addressing the country’s problems. You’ve sleepwalked your way into an industrial relations crisis.”

The Taoiseach responded that Mr O’Callaghan’s “language is completely over the top”, adding that “there is no need for a strike next week”.

“I know the old line, which is not that imaginative, or not that creative, that if a strike happens, it’s your fault. Great line, deputy, and that’s what you have to say, and that’s what you’re going to say, and you’ll continue to say,” he said.

“The offers that have been made are not small offers, but we’re engaged.”

The planned day of public sector strike action will take place on the same date as the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Dublin, which will see around 50 heads of state and leaders of other international bodies visit.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that Ireland’s presidency should showcase the “country at its best”, but instead is being “overshadowed” by a pay dispute of the Taoiseach’s making.

“Potential strike action on one of the most important days of our EU presidency, just in time for Friday 13th. Unlucky for some, they say, but this is not bad luck. This is bad government,” she said.

“Your government let the last pay deal expire in June, on the eve of the start of the EU presidency, a massive undertaking that you knew would place huge demands on public servants. Your government’s failure to engage then was what brought about the strike last month by 300,000 public service workers, and now you’re doing it again.”

Ms Bacik told the Dáil that Uisce Éireann’s CEO got a pay rise of 43%, while the chief executives of Bus Éireann and the Land Development Agency each received top-ups of 50,000 euro. She added that the CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority will draw a wage of 380,000 euro, an increase of 95,000 euro compared with his predecessor.

She added: “How can Minister Chambers claim to be pursuing a fair deal for workers while leaving behind those who need the most help? Meanwhile, the same minister has been busy approving inflation-busting pay rises for the heads of semi-state agencies.

“These are eye-watering amounts. What message does it send to public servants when chief executives receive increases of this magnitude, while you are reportedly asking those delivering essential frontline services to settle for less than 2% for now.

“Is it any wonder they are preparing to down tools or looking beyond our shores? There is a passivity that is characterising your government’s response to public servants, and that’s what’s bringing about the anger. That’s what’s bringing about people’s desperation, because people are really struggling out there with inflation running now at 4%, families not being able to afford to keep food on the table or to pay energy bills.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil “dithered and you delayed for months”, playing “a game of chicken” with public sector workers.

Ms McDonald accused the Taoiseach of driving them to the picket line in absence of a credible pay offer.

“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael deliver for those at the top, but it’s a very different story if you’re a nurse, a teacher, an SNA or a firefighter, because after 10 days of talks, you have failed to hear their concerns, failed to deliver a credible pay offer, failed to respond to the cost of living that is devouring their wages,” she said.

“What the public sees is a distracted government with its eye off the ball, not treating this dispute seriously. A government unable and unwilling to get the job done.

“If this strike goes ahead, then every cancelled hospital appointment, every school closure, every disruption to vital services is on your government. That’s your responsibility.”

Responding individually to the opposition TD’s questions, Mr Martin said on every occasion that he does not accept their characterisations.

He said that the Government was ready for talks “very early” but that unions said “not yet”. He added that “we’ve entered into the talks in good faith” and the pay increases tabled were “not small offers”.

He continued that the expansion of the public service “has been very significant” and that the Government has “no hand act or part” in the decision by the trade union movement to take strike action.