Peadar Tóibín
Question:19. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Defence the reason the technical pay agreement concluded with the Defence Forces in 2019 has not been implemented. [23899/21]
View answerThursday, 13 May 2021
Questions (19)
Written answers
A review of technical pay in the Defence Forces was provided for in the Public Service Agreement 2010 - 2014 (Croke Park Agreement). The purpose of the review, in the context of the agreement, was to rationalise existing technical pay arrangements and consider if the requirements could be met in a more cost effective manner. A review of Technical Pay Group 1 was conducted in 2014 and came into effect at the beginning of 2015.
While the review of Technical Grades 2-6 was underway, the recommendation from the Public Service Pay Commission relating to the review which related to retention of personnel, was substantially different to the focus of the original review. The Public Service Pay Commission recommended that the review of Technical Pay Groups 2 - 6, be completed at the earliest opportunity, without compromising the Public Service Stability Agreement.
An initial report (October 2019) and final report (January 2020) were completed. The approach to implementing the findings of the review of Technical Grades 2-6 remains under consideration. My Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with a view to finalising this matter.