Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 July 2016
173. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to provide a breakdown of the savings made in each relevant sector of the Irish economy since the introduction of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009, 2013 and 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20235/16]
View answerAs recently outlined in the Summer Economic Statement, between 2008 and 2014 Departmental gross voted expenditure decreased by €8 billion as successive Governments sought to bring the public finances under control, exit the EU-IMF Programme and re-establish market access. Difficult decisions in areas including social welfare, health, capital and public sector pay and pensions were taken at a time of increasing demand for services in many areas.
Of this, savings related to public service pay and pensions under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009-2013 contributed €2.2 billion to the fiscal adjustment. The impact of these measures is now being ameliorated through the operation of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 which implements the Lansdowne Road Agreement at a full year cost of €844 million by 2018 with additional provisions providing for a similar programme of reductions in the impact of the Public Service Pension Reduction at a full-year cost of €90m in 2018.
The Annual Review of the operation and effectiveness of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts was laid before the Oireachtas last week and can be found here:
http://www.per.gov.ie/wp-content/uploads/Annual-review-and-report-to-the-Houses-of-the-Oireachtas-by-the-Minister-for-Public-Expenditure-and-Reform-under-section-12-of-the-Act-2016.pdf.
