Some 100,000 public sector workers begin work to rule today. Next week, they will be joined by their colleagues in the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, and the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. On 14 October, we are facing a public sector strike. The Social Democrats and I stand in solidarity with all of those workers. Those commencing work to rule are nurses, hospital workers, local authority workers - people who are on the front line of public services. They help us when we are sick. They keep our communities clean and safe. They step up and do the vital work for each and every one of us every single day and they do so in services that are frequently underfunded and overstretched. The industrial action taking place today and in the coming weeks is because of this Government's failure to engage in meaningful public sector pay talks and, sadly, this could have been avoided.

It has been a frustrating summer, where unions have been clear that they will not accept talks without the basis that there would be a meaningful offer on pay. When will the Government come to the table to avoid further disruption and strike action, engage in good faith with the unions for a new public sector pay deal and deliver for our public sector workers and all of us who rely on those crucial public services?

Deep down the unions and their leadership know there will be a meaningful discussion on pay. They know that. There is no need for this strike action. It is causing unnecessary disruption. There is no need for it, in my view. After a long interval in opposition, I came back into government in 2020 and we have had pay agreements. We entered into pay agreements in good faith and we had good negotiations. I participate in the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, on an ongoing basis. The unions know my attitude and that of the Government towards continuing social dialogue and public service pay negotiations. We have expanded the public service exponentially in the past five or six years. The membership has grown, and all the unions as well, because of that expansion in the public service.

We understand the pressures on everybody. We will have a budget that will help workers, so there is no need for this industrial action. Yesterday, the Minister issued a formal letter of invitation to the unions. He already publicly articulated his openness and that the door is open for negotiations. Of course we want to negotiate a pay agreement; that is clear to everybody. I do not believe there is a need for strike action. A letter has issued from the Minister for public expenditure. I think the unions should call off the industrial action and enter into negotiations with the Government. You will find that in next week's budget, there will be a significant provision.

First, I wish to pass on the condolences of the Labour Party on the passing of Seamus Carroll, a genuinely warm presence in these corridors for many years. He will be sorely missed and out thoughts are with Treasa and his wider family.

There is a need for this industrial action. The 100,000 front-line workers across health, education and local authorities do not want to be on a work to rule. They do not want strike action on 14 and 21 October and they feel they are being gaslit by the Government because it does not want to engage on pay. That is the key thing. The Government has let the current pay agreement lapse. The unions, as the Taoiseach knows, will negotiate but they want to negotiate on pay. The best method to tackle a cost-of-living crisis is more pay for hard-pressed workers. This Government is not engaging on this. It can gaslight and say all it wants, and the Department can put out its statements but the fact is that this Government is not willing to negotiate on pay. Until it is willing to negotiate on pay, the unions will escalate their strikes and will have our support to do so. Will the Government please come to the table and negotiate a public sector pay deal?

I am not one for games or all sorts of industrial relations, IR, mechanisms and processes. I will be straight with the Deputy: that is a nonsense statement. There will be a substantial provision in the budget and the Estimates next week for public service pay. How can anybody credibly say we are not prepared to discuss pay? Come on. Everybody knows that is not true. Let us have a bit of common sense here. There will be a public service pay offer. It is well known. We are open to negotiations.

In any pay agreement, by the way, we discuss a whole range of issues pertaining to public service reforms and local pay bargaining. A whole range of issues get discussed in the context of a pay agreement. We have invited the unions in; there should not be this industrial action, in my view. The previous two agreements were beneficial, particularly to lower-paid workers, and were above inflation. If you look at the increase in public service pay, it has been quite dramatic. I think it has gone from about €21 billion in 2018 to €36 billion in the present day. There has been a very substantial increase in public service pay but, of course, pressures have grown as well because of all the crises we have experienced. We were very responsive during the Covid-19 pandemic to workers generally. We responded with agility and so on. It is not fair for the Deputy to say what he just said.