Parents of secondary school students are very concerned following the ASTI's rejection of the Haddington Road agreement and the very real possibility of industrial action commencing on 2 October. I do not know about the Taoiseach but I do not believe for a second that any teacher wants to strike or to engage in industrial action. Teachers want to teach and deliver the best education to their students. We all know education is being damaged by the Government's austerity approach with the loss of classroom teachers, the withdrawal of guidance services and the tying up of teachers' time and energy with extra administrative work. It is these actions, not the actions of teachers, that have caused damage to our children's education.

Rather than address these concerns and those of parents, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, true to the form of the Taoiseach's Government, charged in like a school yard bully and escalated the situation by threatening compulsory redundancies. Let us remind ourselves that this is the same Minister who presides yet again over chaos in SUSI, who broke basic promises on student fees and who is currently considering increasing primary school class sizes.

Who told the Deputy that?

Will the Government address the concerns of parents? Will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure this crisis is resolved?

Allow the Deputy to put her question.

Will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure there is no industrial action on 2 October? Will he ask his colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, to desist from his threats and suggest to him that it might be better to adopt a more reasonable and constructive approach?

I do not accept the Deputy's assertions at all. She was one of the people who wished the negotiations in respect of the Haddington Road agreement would fail. She denounced them before the ballot was ever held and showed scant regard for teachers, parents or pupils with her comments at the time.

The ASTI has 17,000 members. They have been balloted and have made their views known on the Haddington Road agreement. Some 300,000 public servants have accepted this agreement in the knowledge that this country was left in an unholy and unprecedented economic mess and that we must sort it out. That means the targets and the objectives set out must be achieved along with savings of €1 billion. I commend the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, and Mr. Kieran Mulvey on the extensive and complicated negotiations they had with the trade unions and the trade union members who accepted the Haddington Road agreement.

The ASTI members have made their views known on what they wish to do. On 23 September, the standing committee of the ASTI met and decided to begin industrial action in schools with effect from 2 October. The Deputy asked if I could prevent industrial action. This is a decision of the executive board of the ASTI which will see ASTI members withdraw from all meetings outside school hours, which will impact directly on parents. It will also see ASTI members refusing to participate in training for the new junior cycle, which will impact on parents and their children in second level schools, and it will see ASTI members refusing to take on any management responsibilities without being paid. That is the situation the executive of the ASTI has decided on.

I ask the ASTI to examine the cost to its members of remaining outside the Haddington Road agreement. Far from being some sort of perceived schoolboy bully, which the Deputy mentioned, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, has merely pointed out the reality of the situation. This is the Haddington Road agreement and it will not be renegotiated. Clearly, the ASTI and its members must consider the implications for persons who stay outside the agreement. That is all the Minister said, which is his responsibility. In the context of 300,000 public servants having debated, voted on and accepted this, I ask the ASTI to consider the implications for the students, their parents and its members.

It is a pity the Taoiseach would not be as tough on the bondholders.

The 300,000 public sector workers, about whom the Taoiseach spoke, would tell him that at the time he negotiated Croke Park and then Haddington Road, there was a very clear threat of coercion from Government. It was obvious and it made no secret about it. It came out with the big stick and shook it at public sector workers.

Reject the ballot.

None more so than, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin.

Reject the ballot.

I am simply pointing out to the Taoiseach that which is blindingly obvious, that he is continuing in that vein. It is deeply irresponsible of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, in a situation such as this, where teachers are stressed and parents and their children are very concerned at the prospect of industrial action and strike, to stride in and rather than resolve the matter with the ASTI which has made it clear it is available for discussions, to strike a macho pose.

The Taoiseach has shown scant regard for the children, the teachers and the education system itself. He is the boss and is in charge.

Nobody wants strike action when 2 October comes. The union is available to talk constructively and maturely. Can the Government meet that challenge? Can the Taoiseach make sure talks of that nature happen immediately?

Hear, hear.

I am not sure where Deputy McDonald was for the last period. She seems to forget that the Haddington Road agreement was the subject of the most intensive negotiations and discussions-----

Six months.

-----between the trade unions, the public servants, the Minister, the Labour Relations Commission and everybody else. That went on for six months. The only pay cuts that were introduced applied to those on more than €65,000 per annum. It is an important consideration that Deputy McDonald should bear in mind.

Will the Taoiseach intervene with the teachers?

I have the opportunity and the privilege of meeting so many people who want to invest in this country and create jobs here. They want the highest quality of students to emerge from our second level schools and go on to employment or third level institutions.

Will the Taoiseach intervene, therefore?

For that reason, the people who stand in front of our classes are absolutely fundamental for the future of our country. The young students who are starting in second year and in the junior certificate need the training of the teachers to be able to deal with the new implications of this. We need to consider the disruption that applies in a practical sense. Parents are now expected to attend meetings during school hours even though this disrupts all of family life. The decision taken by the membership of the ASTI, as a consequence of the standing committee's instruction to members, will have other implications as well. I want to make it clear that the Haddington Road agreement will not be renegotiated. It is clear that the protection of that agreement will not apply to people who choose or wish to stay outside it.

So the Taoiseach will not intervene. He could have said that at the outset.

The Deputy might ask me to intervene following the ballot in which the agreement was rejected by ASTI members, but that is not my function. There were six months of negotiations involving all of these people.

That happened after the rejection of the Croke Park agreement. The Government intervened then.

All of these issues were known. The ASTI membership has made its decision. I am disappointed that it happened.

The Taoiseach would not stand up to the bondholders.

Or the banks.

He would not bully them.

I have to say I respect the teaching profession. I am always enthused by international people speaking about the confidence of our young people. The teaching profession is a fundamental part of that triangle. At this time of economic challenge for our country, I ask the ASTI to reflect seriously on its decision to withdraw from all meetings outside school hours, to refuse to participate in training students for the new junior cycle and to refuse to take on management responsibilities without being paid. At a time of national response when we are clearly making progress, difficult though it is, I am disappointed that this decision has been made. It is not my decision.

The Taoiseach is washing his hands of the matter, which is interesting although not surprising.

I assure the Deputy that the Haddington Road agreement will not be renegotiated.

The Taoiseach is like Pontius Pilate.

Far from her glib comment about washing my hands of things here-----

She wants the economy to fail for her own political ends.

-----this was a central focus of the Government for six months.

It was based on intimidation and coercion.

It has been responded to by 300,000 public servants.

I want to make it quite clear that there is no point in giving me orders of the House which restrict the time for Leaders' Questions if people are not going to adhere to the time limits. That applies to everyone.

Including the Taoiseach.

We can throw away the new clocks.