Taoiseach Brian Cowen has ruled out a resumption of social partnership talks despite the threat by unions of a nationwide strike at the end of next month.
Mr Cowen said today he agreed with Ictu general secretary David Begg that it would be “unwise” to resume formal negotiations “unless there is a reasonable degree of confidence that agreement on all the central elements can be found”.
“While I remain available for dialogue with the social partners, the basis for a resumption of formal negotiations has not been established at this time,” Mr Cowen told the Dáil during leaders’ questions.
But he said he did not believe industrial relations strife or strikes would "contribute very much to the problems that we have".
Mr Cowen was criticised by the Opposition for his decision to push through the legislation on the controversial public service pensions levy today.
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the Bill being debated today and due to be passed tonight did not allow for any future flexibility in talks with the social partners.
The Taoiseach said there was no basis for re-engagement with the social partners at present, but “we are clearly making the point that the Government must get on with governing the country”.
“We want to see people get behind us in a national effort.”
He said he had outlined before Christmas his preparedness to enter "intense discussions" in January to consider a comprehensive framework for addressing the current issues.
He said consensus could not be reached with the partners on the implementation of savings of €2 billion at the beginning of February in the interest of "sending a clear signal to ourselves as a country and to the international community that we would take the necessary steps to start to bring some order back into our public finances, which have deteriorated considerably as a result of both domestic issues and the international crisis which is also faced by other economies".
"We decided to introduce a pension levy as part of that solution on the basis that we did not believe we should proceed with any reductions in current expenditure over and above what was agreed as part of the €2 billion package," Mr Cowen said.
"We introduced the levy because we believed that in view of the security of tenure that public service workers thankfully have, and the value of their pension provisions compared to the serious losses being encountered in other areas of the economy in terms of the decimation of pensions, this was the best way forward at this time.
"We took into account that more than one third of our day-to-day expenditure is being borrowed this year and a large proportion of that is the pay and pension bill. I have heard no alternative offered from the Opposition with regard to what areas of current expenditure should be cut if the pension levy is reduced."
The Taoiseach said the partnership process had "much to contribute in the context of the economic and financial crisis that confronts us" .
Mr Gilmore said the anger felt by striking and protesting workers was “understandable” when the lowest paid worker in a hospital was having his or her wages cut and hospital consultants were to get a major increase.
“One of the things the Taoiseach tells us repeatedly is that the economic crisis we are experiencing is largely due to international factors which are outside the control of the Government. Some of that is true, but there are some things that are within our control. One of these is the state of our own country’s industrial relations,” he said.
Mr Gilmore suggested the Taoiseach suspend the passage of the controversial pension levy legislation. He said the Government should have discussions with the trade unions and “at least make some adjustments to the pension levy to make it more fair”.
“Everybody in this House understands there are some things that are manifestly unfair, inconsistent and anomalous in the pension levy arrangement.
“I ask him at least to attempt to reach agreement on those issues, change the proposal before the legislation is enacted and the door is closed on it, and avoid the strikes which are perfectly avoidable if discussions take place with the trade unions representing the workers concerned.”
Mr Gilmore said 120,000 “angry people” had already taken to the streets last Saturday and that a spate of strikes was planned.
“This country’s reputation is on the line, and that is of concern to all of us. In light of all of the matters which are already damaging our reputation in the international community, the last thing we need is Ireland being closed down or various sectors going on strike.”
Mr Cowen said he did not believe industrial relations strife or strikes would “contribute very much towards addressing the problems we have”.
“They will contribute nothing, in fact. I recognise the right, in a democratic society, the right of any person to withdraw his or her labour or to protest; that is entirely within our democratic way of life. However, it does not add anything to the situation.”
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny criticised Mr Cowen on the state of the public finances and he called on the Government to “scrap” the Budget published last October.
He also said he was “disappointed” at the Government’s response to Fine Gael’s proposals to deal with the regulatory authorities and financial institutions in a “constructive fashion and spirit of bipartisanship”.
“Be that as it may, the reputation of the country is at rock bottom and our international credibility is in shreds. This will not change unless decisive Government action is taken, which will not be easy for anybody given a deficit of €20 billion and increasing negative growth.”
Mr Kenny noted remarks today by Tánaiste Mary Coughlan, that it was important not to “talk ourselves into a deeper crisis”.
“It is equally important that we do not talk ourselves into fantasy land.”
Mr Kenny said he had listened “in some astonishment” to the Tánaiste engage in “a wilful example of self-denial about the true state of the economy”.
“She said Ministers, including, I presume, Ministers of State, are working very hard to save every cent. She said the decision on saving €2 billion had been taken, that was it for this year and we will move on to collecting €4 billion next year.
“She also said the pension levy was fair, equitable and not selective, there was no need for further cutbacks this year and the public finances were under control. As head of Government, does the Taoiseach accept that the Tánaiste was speaking on his and his Government’s behalf? Does he also accept that the public finances are under control?”
Mr Cowen said bringing stability to the public finances was “a huge, ongoing challenge”.
“It is a misrepresentation of what the Tánaiste said to suggest that all our work is done either for this or future years. This is an ongoing situation which is evolving all the time. It will require continuing adjustment by Government to take whatever decisions are necessary to keep our public finances in a stable position going forward from a very difficult position.”
Additional reporting: PA