Seán Ryan
Question:159 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Finance the progress made to date with regard to the implementation of the final report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5382/03]
Written Answers - Public Service Benchmarking.
The Public Service Benchmarking Body was established as an independent body in July 2000 under the terms of the PPF to examine public service pay and jobs by comparison with the private sector. The body reported in July 2002.
It was agreed, as part of the adjustment to the PPF, that there would be discussions about the implementation of the report and also that one quarter of any increases recommended would be paid retrospectively from 1 December 2001. The body also recommended that the payment of the balance of the increases recommended should be dependent on real outputs from modernisation, change, adaptability and flexibility. In addition, the outputs should be capable of verification.
Agreement between the public service employers and public service unions on the implementation of the benchmarking body's report have been reached in the context of the new national agreement, Sustaining Progress. If ratified by the unions, one quarter of the benchmarking increases will become payable with effect from 1 December 2001, 50% of the increases will be payable from 1 January 2004 and 25% will be payable from 1 June 2005.
The agreement also sets out the conditions applying to the payment of the increases, other than the first quarter, as recommended by the benchmarking body. Briefly, the payment of the increases is dependent on industrial stability, co-operation with change and flexibility and on achievement of a number of specific commitments in each sector. The adherence to these conditions and their timely achievement will be verified by a process set out in section 26 of the agreement. This should ensure that the payment of the increases will only be made on the basis of real and verified changes as recommended by the benchmarking body.