I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 and 117 to 122, inclusive, together.
As I have stated previously in the House, the provisions set out in the Haddington Road Agreement will deliver the targeted savings of €300 million in 2013 and €1 billion by 2016. The savings arising under the Agreement in 2013 have been incorporated in the various votes in the context of the revised estimates which I published last April and further details for 2014 and 2015 will be incorporated in the vote allocations in the context of the overall estimates process. In addition to the obvious cost benefits, the Agreement provides us with the scope to progress the reform agenda and to deliver unprecedented increases in productivity across the Public Service.
The proposed Agreement is comprised of a number of central measures, which required legislative changes, such as pay, increments and pensions, and a series of sectoral measures such as reductions in overtime rates and non-core payments, increases in working hours across the Public Service and revisions to supervision and substitution payments. The overall savings target of €1 billion is comprised of the following main elements, as set out in the table.
-
|
2013
|
Full Year
|
Savings arising from pay reduction
|
€102m
|
€210m
|
Savings arising from other central measures
|
€35m
|
€130m
|
Savings arising from productivity measures
|
€50m
|
€430m
|
Sector specific measures
|
€118m
|
€230m
|
Total
|
€305m
|
€1,000m
|
Of the €1 billion target, the pay reduction to those earning over €65,000 will deliver approximately €210m. Other central measures, including pension reductions and increment pauses will deliver in the order of €130m, bringing the total amount of savings from central measures to over €340m.
The Agreement will deliver an unprecedented increase in productivity across the Public Service, through the provision of almost 15 million additional working hours and a range of other efficiency and reform measures. The application of the additional hours will vary by sector depending on local patterns in the demand for services, the scale of on-going reductions in staff numbers and the extent of overtime and agency payments. The additional hours will:
- Reduce the requirement for paid overtime hours and agency costs, thereby leading to direct cash savings;
- Allow management to maintain services against the backdrop of decreasing staff numbers and will also facilitate reductions in staff numbers and the associated annual paybill cost over the course of the Agreement; and
- Facilitate the reduction in the costs of supervision and substitution in schools for the duration of the Agreement, which will yield savings of €125m.
These additional hours will facilitate the delivery of an estimated €430m in set out in the following table.
-
|
2013
|
Full Year
|
Reduced requirement for Overtime and Agency working
|
€50m
|
€130m
|
Elimination of supervision and substitution allowance
|
€0
|
€125m
|
Facilitating headcount reduction
|
€0
|
€175m
|
Total
|
€50m
|
€430m
|
There have been numerous specific measures agreed at the sectoral level. These measures will help to deliver the greatest return for each sector both in terms of cost savings and efficiency gains and ensuring that each sector is making a fair contribution to the overall savings target. These measures will include, for example, changes to overtime rates and non-core payments. In total, these sector specific measures and Agreements will yield savings of almost €230m.
In addition to the various productivity measures, the Agreement provides for further long-term and sustainable workplace reforms in a number of areas. The Agreement will ensure that performance management systems will be put in place in areas where no system currently exists. In addition, in areas where performance management is currently in place, these systems will be strengthened and managers will be held accountable for the performance and development of their staff. The Agreement provides for more effective arrangements to support redeployment on a cross-sectoral and geographical basis. This will enhance management's flexibility for the deployment of staff to areas of most need to ensure continued service delivery.
The Public Service will continue to be to the fore in pioneering flexible working arrangements which can contribute to the efficient and effective business performance as well as enabling staff to balance work/life requirements. However, the multitude of work sharing patterns currently in place can impact on the capacity of organisations to deliver services. The Agreement will allow for the streamlining of these patterns and will ensure a minimum attendance of 50% for all future approved arrangements. Significant progress has been made in restructuring the Public Service in recent years, particularly under the Public Service Agreement. The Agreement will allow for the streamlining of the Public Service to make it a leaner and more efficient organisation. All sectors will be required to bring forward proposals on ways to reduce management numbers and to rationalise grades.