Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second my colleague Senator McDowell's amendment. The time has come to establish whether we live in a democracy and whether this House has the right to debate issues that are important to the citizens of this State. Bringing in legislation and just ramming it through is becoming rather tiresome. I would have expected the referendums had taught a lesson to the Government to engage in proper parliamentary debate, so I second Senator McDowell's motion.

Today, the current cadet class will graduate in the Curragh and I know the Cathaoirleach will join me in wishing them well. It is great to see these young men and women heading out on a career in the Defence Forces having been commissioned into the State. It is absolutely diabolical, however, that within ten years most of them will have left the Defence Forces because of the 2013 pension, which has destroyed public service. The 2013 pension was brought in by civil servants who had well-heeled pensions themselves and were well looked after by the State. They destroyed public service in this country. Garda members are leaving in their droves, as are military personnel. We have to get the Minister for public expenditure and reform to appear before the House and drive home the message that the pension scheme that was introduced in 2013 has destroyed public service. We need to wake up to that. There is contagion. It moved from the Army to the Garda and it will move to the Prison Service, the fire services and, eventually, the wider public service. Nobody will want to serve the State because there is nothing in it for them at the end of it but a paltry pension that will be worth nothing to them. We need to get that debate going and I ask the Leader to try to facilitate it.