The president of the country’s largest public service union has said that there is little enthusiasm for the Croke Park agreement but that it is a deal for its time.
In an address to Impact's biennial delegate conference in Kilkenny tonight John Power said that the Croke Park proposals represented "the best and safest port available to the good ship public services in a raging economic storm".
Mr Power, who is a forensic scientist, said that the agreement on public service pay and reform reached at Croke Park did not achieve everything the unions had sought.
"For me, the question is not 'did we achieve everything we wanted to?' The real question is 'could we have achieved more by taking a different course of action?' I am satisfied that the answer to both questions is: 'No'," he said.
Mr Power said that observers had been shocked when Impact sought Labour Relations Commission (LRC) clarifications of the Croke Park package because they tended to assume that the union would always support any agreement.
"Over the years, there has been some resentment in this union that others, particularly employers and Government, seem to believe that Impact will always endorse the agreements that emerge. So there was some shock and consternation out there when this executive said it wanted more clarity over the proposals before it was prepared to put them to ballot.
"Now that the LRC clarifications have emerged – and now that the Labour Court has clarified the position in the health area – it is clear that this was absolutely the right thing to do in the interests of our members, and in the interests of a robust agreement that can survive the challenges of the next three and a half years," he said.
Mr Power said that the Impact executive had recommended acceptance of the Croke Park agreement to members because it represented the best and safest port available to the 'good ship public service' in a raging economic storm.
"While we are in port, there will be an annual inspection of how transformations have made the ship fit to deliver savings and protect public services while the storm persists. And, on this basis, repairs can be made to the gaping holes in our members' incomes", he said.
He also criticised the Government's policy on public services and the wider economy. He said that the Government's approach was to drive down wages, social welfare and pensions.