Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 May 2013
69. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department is no longer seeking savings of €300 million on the public sector pay and pensions bill during the remainder of 2013; the required savings now for 2013; the impact any reduction in the required savings may have on the budget deficit targets for 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24967/13]
View answer71. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he expects to achieve the targets identified by the Troika as set out in the Croke Park Agreement and its current revision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25000/13]
View answer72. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which he remains satisfied that projected savings in public expenditure remain achievable in the context of the current review of the Croke Park Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25001/13]
View answer73. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will indicate whether in the context of discussions taking place at the LRC with his Department, he expects to continue to meet the targets set out by his predecessors with the Troika; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25002/13]
View answer74. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which agreement in principle is likely to be reached in the course of current discussions in respect of achieving savings throughout the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25003/13]
View answer78. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which ongoing discussions are taking place with various groups in the public sector in the context of the revision of the Croke Park Agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25007/13]
View answer80. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will indicate whether all targets identified under the Croke Park Agreement and approved by his predecessors in office remain fully achievable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25009/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 69, 71 to 74, inclusive and 78 and 80 together.
The Government is determined to achieve €300m in savings this year and €1bn by 2015 in the public service pay and pensions bill to ensure that it meets its fiscal targets and restores the public finances to a sustainable position. These savings are in addition to the savings enabled by the original framework of the Public Service (or Croke Park) Agreement 2010-2014. The deputy will be aware that the Government’s preference is to secure these savings on a negotiated basis.
On foot of the rejection by the Public Services Committee of ICTU, of the LRC proposals negotiated in February of this year, the Government had asked the Chief Executive of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), Mr. Kieran Mulvey, to initiate discussions with various public sector unions and representative associations on whether or not there was a basis for a negotiated agreement for achieving the necessary savings. Mr. Mulvey and his team have been engaged in intensive discussions with the parties over recent weeks and he has kept me fully informed of developments. Those discussions concluded on Monday last, and unions now have draft proposals for agreement for consideration under their own rules and procedures.
The Government is pleased with the outcome of the LRC process and I would like to thank all those involved in the talks, particularly the LRC who facilitated the discussions. It provides us with an opportunity to achieve the necessary savings; to afford the protection of a collective agreement to public servants and to provide industrial peace in the public service at a crucial time for our economy. The essential elements and protections of the existing Public Service Agreement will also remain in place and industrial peace in the public service can be secured at a critical time in our path to economic recovery.
Also today I have published legislation to give effect to the pay reduction for those earning over €65,000, the parallel reduction in public service pensions and other contingent measures to enable the Government achieve its savings requirements in the event of non-ratification of collective agreements. Ireland has successfully concluded the tenth review mission of our EU-IMF Programme which was completed on 2nd May 2013. In line with each of the previous quarterly reviews, Ireland has met its commitments and our continued strong programme implementation has been recognized by the Troika.
In relation to the existing Public Service Agreement, the Implementation Body, which is charged with driving the implementation of the Agreement has carried out two annual reviews of the Agreement to date. These reviews have found that approximately €1.5bn in savings has been facilitated by the Agreement during its first two years, comprising of €810m and €678m in sustainable pay bill and non-pay (efficiency) savings respectively.
The reports of the Body also show that significant reforms have been delivered across the sectors of the public service, including for example: 1. Extensive redeployment and reassignment of staff, for example in the health and education sectors. 2. Progress on rationalising structures and office requirements, for example Department of Agriculture and Revenue local offices, court venues and Teagasc offices. 3. Introduction of revised rosters, for example in An Garda Síochána and health service locations to better match resources with demands. 4. Local authorities have changed structures, the way in which services are delivered and the way staff are organized and deployed in order to manage the significant reduction in staff in the sector, as approximately 8,500 have left the sector since 2008.
The Implementation Body is currently completing the third annual review of the Agreement which will assess the level of savings achieved and progress on implementing the reform commitments under the framework of that Agreement during the relevant period. I expect to receive the Body’s Report shortly.
