Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
43. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he is planning any new measures in budget 2024 to address the recruitment and retention difficulties across key areas of the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25163/23]
View answerAs a result of Ireland's robust economic growth, unemployment is low and labour market conditions are tight. Labour and skills shortages are presenting challenges for employers across the labour market, including the civil and public service.
Despite this, staff numbers in the public sector have continued to grow consistently. Between 2015 and 2022, the estimated numbers in full-time equivalent terms increased by almost one-fourth, from 302,000 to 377,311. According to the latest data available, by the end of 2022 the public service numbers had increased by 3.1% over the end of 2021 numbers.
The public service is a good employer and continues to offer competitive pay and other terms and conditions to attract and retain staff, including flexible working arrangements, pension provision and secure employment. In the case of recruitment policy for which I have policy responsibility, my Department works closely with the Public Appointments Service and other Government Departments to achieve the objectives set out by the Civil Service Renewal 2024 Action Plan to ensure that the State remains an employer of choice.
Staff recruitment and retention are influenced by a broad range of factors. Pay in the public service has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the negotiation of the Croke Park Agreement in 2010. The current agreement is ‘Building Momentum.’
As the Deputy will be aware, discussions took place last year between the parties to the Agreement that resulted in a set of proposals put forward by the WRC to extend Building Momentum for a period of 12 months to the end of 2023, making it a three-year pay agreement. The extension acknowledges the higher than anticipated rates of inflation that have emerged since 2021 and the impact of cost of living pressures.
Three additional pay adjustments totalling 6.5% were provided for under the extension. These were an increase in annualised basic salaries for public servants of:
• 3% (backdated to the 2nd February 2022)
• 2% on 1st March 2023, and
• 1.5% or €750, whichever is greater, on 1 October 2023.
The initial Building Momentum Agreement provided headline benefits of 3%. With the extension, headline benefits over the lifetime of the Agreement amount to 9.5%, or just over 3% per year. In respect of public servants at lower pay levels, the Agreement as extended provides for increases of 12.5% over its lifetime, which is an average of just over 4% per annum.
Given Building Momentum will conclude at the end of 2023, I expect that engagement will get underway in the coming months on the potential for a successor Agreement. As is always the case, such an agreement will need to strike an appropriate balance between providing for wage adjustments for public servants on the one hand with ensuring we continue to manage the public finances in a sustainable way on the other.
