Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 January 2010
265 Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the savings outlined in the report of the special group on public numbers and expenditure programmes which were accepted in budget 2010 for his Department in tabular form; the savings which will be achieved in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1257/10]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware the report of the special group on public numbers and expenditure programmes outlined a wide range of proposals across all Departments, a number of which can only be achieved through restructuring over a number of years. The implementation of the proposals for my Department and the Offices under its aegis is ongoing, and initial progress has been made in this regard in budget 2010.
The savings outlined for my Department and the Offices under its aegis together with savings identified as being achievable in budget 2010 are set out in the following table.
|
Office |
Annualised Savings Identified |
Savings Accepted in Budget 2010 |
|
€m |
€m |
|
|
Valuation Office |
2 |
1.031 |
|
Public Appointments Service |
7.9 |
4.308 |
|
Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments |
0.3 |
0.240 |
|
Office of the Revenue Commissioners |
26.6 |
26.6 |
|
Office of Public Works |
41.0 |
21.0 |
|
Office of the Minister for Finance |
5.0 |
5.0 |
|
Total |
82.8 |
58.179 |
21 recommendations were made by the special group in respect of the finance group of votes. At present, 14 of these have either been implemented or are in progress, with the remainder under consideration. €58.179 million is the projected 2010 saving arising from the recommendations that will be fully or partly completed in 2010. The remaining savings are expected to be achieved over a number of years.
267 Deputy Paul Gogarty asked the Minister for Finance if he will introduce a referendum facilitating a reduction in pay for members of the Judiciary, similar to other public servants; if he will outline a reason for not considering this option in view of the anger amongst members of the public who have had to suffer as a result of pay cuts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1273/10]
View answerThe introduction of referenda on the Constitution is a matter for the Government.
In its report late last year, the review body on higher remuneration in the public sector concluded that the Constitution precluded them from recommending a reduction in judicial pay. Had they not been so precluded, they would have considered a downward adjustment. For the same reason the pension levy was not applied to the Judiciary, though many judges have contributed an amount on a voluntary basis. As I indicated in budget 2010, the Chief Justice and the Presidents of the Courts have urged all judges to make appropriate voluntary contributions from salary in respect of the levy and I will make provision in the Finance Bill to facilitate these payments.
I also indicated that since the review body would have considered a reduction of judicial salaries, I have decided that there will be no increase in judges' pay during the lifetime of this Government. Future Governments may choose, as in the past, to continue this course of action.
