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JUNIOR FINANCE MINISTER Brian Hayes has said that legislating with regards to public sector savings “is inevitable if there is no agreement”.
He cautioned against having to go down this route, however, saying: “We don’t want to impose some unilateral settlement if we cannot find agreement”.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Hayes said that he wasn’t surprised by yesterday’s protest by frontline staff, but said that further cuts to public sector pay required looking “under the bonnet” in order to help cut the €1 billion that government require.
While legislating for pay cuts alone would be “too simplistic”, he said that government instead hoped to deal with the “systematic problem” that existed instead and that things such as weekend overtime and premium pay could not be excluded.
Extending the talks
With Croke Park Agreement talks continuing, and with the deadline of the end of February now ‘looming’, Hayes hinted that the date could be extended.
Downplaying large scale industrial action by saying that the “great majority of public service unions were still around the table”, he said that it would be foolish to not extend the deadline, if required.
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How about extending Breast and Bowel Screening Tests to over 70′s? That would be a real benefit and an end to age discrimination in those areas.
That’s nothing new. Most old age pensioners bring the partner any, I don’t feel anyone would stop
them, give it a rest, Bord failte talk
@Phillip Smyth: yes, but this measure extends it from spouse, to friend or loved one
@Phillip Smyth: I was stopped at Carlow Railway station from bringing my sister as a companion and she is even older than me.
@Kevin Kerr: this happening anyhow has been years it’s an epidemic lol.
@Geraldine Mahon: I would have kicked up a major fuss, Shame on them.
Address the huge cost of attending hospital appointments, and having to use and pay for the car parks.
The HSE have contracted the car park facilities out so that they don’t have to deal directly with the clients.
have your say