Vol. 295 No. 3
I move:
That a supplementary sum not exceeding £64,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 1976, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Finance, including the Paymaster-General's Office and for payment of certain grants-in-aid.
If Deputy Colley wishes me to answer any queries I shall be happy to do so.
I am not too sure of the procedure. If I put some questions to the Minister and he replies and if I wish to make any observations on them am I in order in doing so?
Yes. The Chair will facilitate the Deputy.
Would the Minister tell us why the increase in salaries, wages and allowances is required? In other words, the Estimate did not provide for the sums involved. Presumably, one of the reasons is that the Estimate for salaries, wages and allowances was based on an assumption which turned out to be erroneous in regard to pay increases but there could also be an element of increased staff involved. I would appreciate if the Minister would indicate if that is so.
Travelling and incidental expenses apparently relate to sums required for advertisements and certain office equipment amounting to £55,000. Would the Minister elaborate a little more on what is involved in that? Why is there an additional £24,000 required over and above the estimated sum of £534,000 for the management of prize bonds and external loans? An outline explanation is required from the Minister in relation to that.
In regard to the National Savings Committee it appears that the sum involved here is required to recoup the Department of Posts and Telegraphs in respect of the salary of staff on loan to the committee. May I take it that what is involved here is the additional increase in salaries due to those individuals which would be in the same category as the first item of £34,000 under subhead A.1? I would appreciate if the Minister would indicate if that is so?
Generally speaking, the additional amount required this year in respect of remuneration is in consequence of the implementation of the interim pay agreement which was voted on on 15th September last. It will be dealt with under the heading of Remuneration, Vote 51. If, as in this case it is necessary to move a separate Supplementary Estimate for a Department that Supplementary Estimate will carry the additional remuneration in respect of that Department. All we are left with in Vote 51 is the residue after Supplementary Estimates for individual Departments, where they arise, have been moved.
Does the Minister mean that where a Supplementary Estimate is needed for some other purpose the opportunity is taken to provide for the increased remuneration and any that do not come into that category are lumped together in the other one?
That is correct. In the main, we are dealing here with the interim national agreement. The House will recall that the budget was prepared on the basis of having a pay pause throughout 1976 and, therefore, provision was not made for all the additional remuneration which arose consequent on the implementation of the interim agreement. That sum has to be made up by individual Supplementary Estimates or the Remuneration Vote.
There is also an addition in respect of salaries. Under the costs involved in the introduction of PAYE we estimated it would be necessary to recruit some staff for a short period but in the event, because of additional problems, it was necessary to retain staff for a longer period to do the peak load of work involved in the changeover from one system to another. Some of the staff who were deployed temporarily have since been referred elsewhere and some are still retained. We have, however, been able to effect a saving on the salaries side by the introduction of three computers and the additional sum of £55,000 under travelling and incidental expenses is in a large part attributable to three computers and the accompanying softwear. There has been a saving of nearly £10,000 on travelling so that the main burden of the addition is attributable to the computers, which is a long term economy.
The addition under subhead D in respect of management of Government stocks arises in the main because of the fall in the value of sterling. Some of the expenses in relation to the management of Government stocks are payable in Deutschemarks and other hard currencies such as the US dollar. Under national savings, subhead F, the additional £7,000 is due to the necessity to recoup the Post Office for increases in the salaries of staff on loan to the committee. It is attributable to reasons similar to those I outlined in respect of salaries and is applicable also to Vote 51, Remuneration.
I thank the Minister for those explanations. There is one other matter I would like to elaborate on, that is the additional sum of £24,000 in respect of management of Government stocks. I regret, as I am sure the Minister does, the necessity for the payment of a supplementary sum because of the falling value of the £ and the necessity to pay some of these commitments in harder currencies. Could the Minister indicate why there should be an additional sum required for the management of prize bonds?
It is due to the need to make good to the agents who operate the prize bonds scheme their increases in salary costs.
Why do the Central Bank not operate the prize bonds now?
The existing scheme operates satisfactorily expect when, as happened this year, there is a closure of the institution in question. The possibility, to which Deputy O'Malley referred, is under consideration.
The management of all Government securities was moved from the Bank of Ireland to the Central Bank some years ago.
Apart from the difficulties which have arisen, sadly all too often, in relation to the closure of the associated banks the operation of the prize bonds by the Bank of Ireland has been efficient and successful and gives the State good value for money. If one could be assured that there would be no further closures of the said institution there would be no reason at this stage to consider taking the matter from the Bank of Ireland. One must seriously consider, in view of all that happened in the past, if we should not take steps to avoid that risk recurring in the future.
