Written Answers Nos. 91-97
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.
92. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which pay levels throughout the public sector here have realigned in accord with other EU countries, eurozone and non-eurozone; the extent to which the introduction of new taxation, including local and indirect taxation, here has impacted on the overall economic situation with particular reference to the extent to which public expenditure levels have modified in accord; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3165/14]
View answerThe expenditure reduction measures adopted by Government to restore our economic sovereignty, including pay and pension reductions applied to serving and former public servants, have been directed at ensuring that the reduction in the public service pay and pensions bill makes a proportionate contribution to the significant fiscal consolidation efforts required to meet our international commitments.
Rather than basing reductions on a comparison to the pay of other employees in Ireland or other countries, the measures introduced have been based on meeting the Government's priority to restore Ireland to a sound fiscal footing. The Financial Emergency Measures Acts 2009 to 2013, allied with a large scale reform programme facilitated by the Public Service and Haddington Road Agreements, have delivered a significant reduction in the cost of the Exchequer Pay Bill, from a peak in 2009 of €17.5bn (gross) to an estimated €13.6bn (net of PRD) in 2014, effecting a saving of €3.9bn, and of over 10% in the number of public servants from 320,000 in 2008 to an estimated 287,000 in 2014 at the same time as demands on public services are increasing.
This has contributed significantly to a reduction from a deficit of over 30% in 2010 to a targeted deficit for 2014 of 4.8% and has delivered stability to the economy while delivering more services with less money through reform and change.
While any increase in taxation is likely to have a negative short-run impact on economic output, this must be balanced against the need to restore Ireland to a sound fiscal footing. This, in turn, will aid the restoration of confidence in the Irish economy and allow for sustainable economic growth over the medium term.
93. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total number of persons who have left the public sector by way of normal retirement, early retirement or otherwise in the course of the past five years; the extent to which services continue to remain intact in the aftermath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3166/14]
View answerSince 2008, the size of the public service has been reduced in net terms by about 31,500 (or c. 10%) to its present size of about 289,000. Detailed statistics are available at http://databank.per.gov.ie.
In the course of this downsizing, we have ensured the prioritisation of key posts and services and have allowed recruitment and the filling of priority vacancies across key areas of the public service including, notably, in the Education and Health sectors.
Given Ireland's fiscal position it was imperative that the public service reduced and controlled its costs, which necessarily involved maintaining a tight control on staffing and pay levels. The continued increase in demand for services across the system makes further downsizing challenging, but the newly agreed work practices, shared services and other reform initiatives, recently announced in the new Public Service Reform Plan 2014-2016 makes it possible.
The Haddington Road Agreement also provides for a significant increase in productivity, though the provision of almost 15 million additional working hours annually across of sector of the public service. These reforms are a key element of our response to the economic situation and the need to continue to deliver important services, in the face of increased demands and reduced numbers and budgets.
96. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which outsourced services required by various Departments, bodies or agencies are restricted in terms of cost in the same way as applies in the rest of the public service; the degree to which he has become aware of any breaches whereby such service costs do not comply with Government strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3169/14]
View answerAll Exchequer-funded services - including any such services that are outsourced - are subject to the normal rules governing the allocation and spending of public monies. Expenditure ceilings for individual Votes are agreed by Government within the context of the overall fiscal targets. It is a matter for each Minister and their Departments to ensure that Vote-level allocations are adhered to while at the same time ensuring that they continue to provide essential services and respond appropriately to increasing demands.
Question No. 97 answered with Question No. 89.
