I understand the Taoiseach has asked the Labour Relations Commission to engage again with the trade unions a week after Croke Park II was decisively rejected by workers. At the same time, his Government is moving forward Estimates which include these pay cuts for front-line workers as a done deal.

For this new process to have any chance of success there must be a real policy shift in the Government's approach to this issue. Has the Taoiseach accepted the result of the Croke Park II ballot? Does he accept that Croke Park II is now off the table? Does he now accept that the big stick approach of issuing threats and diktats to public sector workers has failed? Will he definitively state that the Government threat to cut pay by 7% across the board is now off the table? This process must be a real renegotiation rather than a face-saving exercise or a tweaking. It cannot be like Lisbon II or Nice II. He cannot continue to ask workers to vote again until they give him the answer he wants. Is it a case of back to the drawing board? Is the Taoiseach genuinely open to new ideas and other ways to close the deficit?

Does the Deputy have some?

Will this be an inclusive negotiation? Will all parties be invited back to the table? I have in mind in particular the gardaí, the nurses, the emergency personnel and other front-line workers, some of whom were excluded from the process towards the end of the negotiation of the Croke Park II deal.

I can confirm to the House that the Government considered the matter this morning and approved a recommendation from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that in the first instance, having noted the decision of the trade unions in their ballot on the Croke Park II negotiations, the Labour Relations Commission, LRC, should be asked to engage with the 21 unions involved to see if there is room for negotiation in respect of the outcome of the decision by the trade unions. That does not alter the fact that the figures and the arithmetic remain the same. There is a requirement to achieve a saving of €300 million this year from within the public payroll bill, rising to €1 billion by 2015. In the first instance the Government has decided to ask the LRC to engage with the unions, having published the Revised Estimates, including the requirement clearly set out by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who has the full backing of the Government in this matter, to determine whether there is a basis for discussion and negotiation. The Government expects to get a response to that engagement inside two weeks.

I asked the Taoiseach a series of questions. He did not answer any of them, with the exception of one. He is making it clear that Croke Park II is still on the table, and I can only take from his answers that he has asked the LRC to engage with unions and workers on that basis. Obviously, the Taoiseach hopes there can be some face-saving or tweaking of this agreement. I would not share that view. We should remember that when this deal was produced, the Government agreed, alongside the trade unions, that a process of ratification would be entered into. He voluntarily agreed to the notion that workers should be balloted on this agreement. The workers have rejected the agreement by a decisive majority.

When does "No" mean "No"? Why can the Taoiseach not accept that democratic verdict? He said he has to save €300 million. So be it, but there are other ways in which he can raise €300 million. It does not have to be at the expense of front-line workers. It does not have to be a result of hammering the public services.

Thank you, Deputy.

The Taoiseach has asked the LRC to talk to the unions to see if there is room for a negotiation on the outcome of the agreement. What exactly does that mean? Is he asking it to test the ground with the unions to see whether they can run the vote again? Is that the Taoiseach's thinking? Given that he is hell-bent on finding this €300 million, why does the Taoiseach put himself in a type of policy straitjacket? Why will he not look beyond the proposals in Croke Park II to other initiatives that could raise those moneys fairly? Perhaps there is an argument for a proportion of that to come from the cosseted upper echelons of the public sector, but low- and middle-income workers and front-line workers have told the Government definitively that they have no more to give. Has the Taoiseach heard that? Does he understand it? Why will he not allow the LRC to open up the discussion in a genuine, open-minded way and listen to the proposals that many of the trade unions will bring forward as to how he might gather the €300 million? Will the Taoiseach not agree that "No" does mean "No"?

As I said to the Deputy, the bottom line is that the Government follows a plan which has made significant progress towards rectifying our public finances, restoring some sense of confidence in the Irish economy and bringing about a situation in which, thankfully, 1,000 jobs are being created in the private sector every month. The Government was disappointed with the outcome of the vote, which, on the basis of the negotiated proposals before the trade unions, ensured that those who earned the most paid the most and that the core pay of the 87% of public workers who earn less than €65,000 were not affected.

The Deputy's party has had views about the way in which this should be dealt with. I remind her of her proposal before the last election for €3 billion in tax increases, which would have been catastrophic for this country, deprived people of any opportunity to work and left marginal rates at an exceptionally high level.

Says the Taoiseach with the 14% unemployment rate. Is he joking?

It does not take into account the mess we inherited and the difficulties with which Government has had to deal.

Regarding those who earn most, the €500 million package put together in the last budget comes from those who earn most. I repeat that the proposal did not affect the core pay or salary of the 87% of public sector workers earning less than €65,000 a year.

I cannot believe the Taoiseach is coming out with that again.

The Taoiseach is re-running Croke Park II.

I would also make the point to Deputy McDonald that it is important that the Government stick to its plan, which is working in a sense of moving towards renewed confidence in the Irish economy.

As the Minister for Finance has stated, any flexibility that arises should clearly be invested in infrastructure for the public good, such as schools, primary care centres and public buildings, so that contractors and other people can have the opportunity to go work and earn a living and there is some investment for the future.

Deputy Bruton wants a tax cut.

Investing in minor adjustments to the social protection area will not sort out our economy. What we need to do is deal with the challenge of the scale of 14% unemployment and a live register of 400,000 people. This means investment in infrastructure in which people can be employed and have meaningful jobs.

Is that why the Government cut the capital budget by over €3 billion?

As I said at the beginning, the Government's decision was to approve the recommendation of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to ask the LRC to engage with the unions involved to see, following the outcome of the vote, whether there is a basis now for a negotiated agreement on savings of €300 million this year. The Minister expects to have a response within two weeks.