FINE GAEL says that any new social partnership agreement must involve moderate pay increases, a new anti-inflation strategy to bring down prices, concessions by unions on work practice changes and reform in the health, education and State agency sectors.
In a speech to be delivered today at the Young Fine Gael Summer School in Carlingford, the party's enterprise spokesman, Leo Varadkar, will argue that the Government should not make a deal for the sake of making a deal.
"Any social partnership deal must benefit taxpayers, consumers and users of public services. Ending up with no deal at all is better than compromising with a bad one," he says.
Mr Varadkar is to call on the Government to put taxpayers, consumers and public service users first in the social partnership process.
"This means ensuring a moderate pay deal that taxpayers can afford, an anti-inflation strategy to bring prices under control, including real competition in protected sectors of the economy such as electricity provision and waste collection, and wholesale reform of public services.
"This must include major concessions by the unions on business competition, a process of promotion by merit in education, the rationalisation of State agencies and greater flexibility and accountability in the health sector," he states.
Mr Varadkar will argue that social partnership is supposed to be based on agreement among labour interests, business interests and the Government.
"In this process, the Government has a duty to represent the interests of taxpayers, consumers and the users of public services, as well as patients, commuters and students. Sadly, in recent years Fianna Fáil has not honoured its responsibilities. As a result, taxpayers, consumers and public service users have lost out in the process, which has also discriminated against small business and private sector workers," he says.
He contends that in the past Fianna Fáil has been "so desperate to secure a deal" that it has been prepared to reach agreement at the expense of taxpayers, consumers and public service users.
"Too often, public sector unions and big business have been given what they want, while taxpayers and consumers have been left to pick up the tag in the form of higher taxes and higher prices, and the users of public services have been left paying more for public services without seeing any improvements," he says.
Meanwhile, the talks between the Government, the unions and the employers on a new national pay deal are set to continue next week.
Government officials held separate bilateral talks with unions and employers over recent days on issues including the economy, the possible length of any agreement and public services.
Talks have been scheduled for four afternoons next week.
Earlier this week the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, David Begg, said that if a deal was going to be secured agreement would have to be reached before the end of the month.
Sources close to the talks have maintained that the next week will be crucial in determining whether the parties will be able to reach an agreement.
