On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I express sympathy to our deputy leader, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, on the death of his mother, Emer Í Chuív. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam.
The Taoiseach told the Dáil earlier this week that next Tuesday the Cabinet would approve the setting up of transition teams to manage the retirement of thousands of public sector employees at the end of February. It is shambolic that the Government has left it until two weeks before the deadline to put these teams in place, despite having 12 months notice that this issue was coming down the track. Such is the lack of preparation for dealing with the fallout from the impending retirements that the Minister for Health is admitting that staff who are being incentivised to leave can and will, in some cases, be immediately rehired to fill gaps in the service. It is no excuse to say the final numbers leaving only became available last week. When the Government took office 11 months ago today it knew that thousands of public sector staff would be leaving at the end of February 2012. If we get through this process without essential public services being dangerously compromised, it will have been because of the flexibility and the commitment of public servants.
What reassurance can the Minister provide for the people about the state of critical front-line services, particularly in the health sector, at the end of February following the retirements? The Government has been noticeably reluctant to spell out the net savings that will be achieved in 2012. All we continue to hear is that by the end of 2015 the gross public sector pay bill will be €2.5 billion lower than in 2008. When our public expenditure spokesman, Deputy Sean Fleming, sought information on the financial numbers and the savings underpinning the retirements this year, he was told by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, that the information was not available and that he should contact each Department for the information. That is a joke. I want the Minister to provide clarity on the net savings to be achieved. In particular, what will be the gross payroll savings arising from the retirements this year? What will be the net payroll savings, taking into account the extra pension costs that will be incurred and the revenue forgone by way of the income tax, PRSI and pension contributions and pension levy payments being made by these public servants and the fact that some of them will be rehired.
