Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2014
91. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which the Croke Park and-or Haddington Road agreements continue to deliver in respect of the various targets set out; if underperformance has been noted in any areas; if specific areas have performed better than expected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3164/14]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my response of 21 November 2013 to Parliamentary Question 23. As I noted in that response, the final report of the Implementation Body for the Croke Park Agreement concluded that the Agreement facilitated significant cost savings, amounting to €1.8 billion over its lifetime, while also acting as a key enabler for reform both at central and sectoral levels in a climate of industrial peace. The report also concluded that the overwhelming majority of commitments around cost extraction, reform and changed work practices had been substantially delivered. In this context, I am satisfied that the Croke Park Agreement has delivered on, and indeed exceeded, its objectives.
In relation to the Haddington Road Agreement, the Agreement is already delivering on its objectives. In terms of cost reduction, approximately €300 million in savings, arising from the implementation of various measures under the Agreement, was incorporated into the various votes in the context of the Revised Estimates for 2013. The measures and reforms implemented under the Agreement helped to ensure that spending remained in line with profile and resulted in Ireland delivering on our fiscal target for 2013.
Furthermore, savings under the Agreement were included in the budgetary arithmetic for 2014, in the expenditure ceilings for each Vote, as appropriate. Similarly, the savings to be generated from the Agreement in 2015 will be incorporated into the expenditure ceilings for each Vote as part of the estimates process.
In addition to these monetary targets, a number of changes in work practices and reforms have been implemented since 1 July 2013. Of particular significance is the fact that public servants across all sectors of the Public Service will work an additional 15 million hours annually when all measures are fully implemented. These additional hours will help us to deliver long term and sustainable increases in productivity, while also helping to improve the provision of services to citizens. The benefits from the additional hours under the Agreement are significant, with measures around increased productivity set to deliver approximately €430 million of the €1 billion targeted savings.
On 14 January, I published a new Public Service Reform Plan, covering the period 2014 to 2016. A progress report on the previous Reform Plan was also published. The new Reform Plan includes more than 200 actions, with clear time lines attached, including start and end dates for delivery. A senior official has also been assigned to each of these actions, to ensure clarity of responsibility for delivery of the actions and to assist in monitoring the progress made. The Haddington Road Agreement will act as a key enabler for the delivery of this next phase of the Government's ambitious reform agenda.
