SEANAD REPORT:THERE WAS a need for an 18-month pay pause right across the economy, but particularly in the public service which had benefited enormously over the last decade when times had been good, a Government member said.
As parliamentarians who were part of the service, it was important that they would play their part and that it was not left to private sector workers to take the pain in regard to what was happening in the economy, Jim Walsh (FF) said.
Calling for a debate on the latest ESRI report, Frances Fitzgerald, Fine Gael leader in the House, said it seemed the Government was in a state of denial over the seriousness of the economic situation.
Joe O'Toole (Ind) said he thought that social partnership was the only way forward in dealing with the economic situation, but this could not be done without a clear political message.
The Taoiseach had to put his cards on the table, spell out the problem and say whether he envisaged another national agreement as being part of the solution, or if he wanted to go another way. Solutions could be found when people were given the necessary information, he added.
Alex White (Lab) said the ESRI report showed the recession that we faced was almost entirely home-grown. The Minister for Finance needed to get over "his Angola moment" and deal with the challenges facing the department.
Marc MacSharry (FF) said he wanted to utterly refute idiotic Opposition suggestions that the scenario depicted in the ESRI report was totally home-grown. Mortgage activity in the UK was down dramatically and there was a similar property downturn in the US. This was largely due to the international credit crisis.
Eugene Regan (FG) said the last Fine Gael/Labour government had left the economy in tip-top shape, but that had been "blown" by those who were currently in power. "The important question is whether the Government will start by reversing its own ministerial salary increases. That would be a first and most obvious step for it to take."
Feargal Quinn (Ind) said he feared that they were talking themselves into a bigger recession than they might otherwise have had.