Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 17 Feb 1994

Vol. 439 No. 1

Written Answers. - Public Sector Pay.

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

33 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Finance the final outturn in 1994 on public sector pay; and the way in which the annual rise in the years 1994 to 1997 will compare with the years of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress.

Minister for Finance (Mr. B. Ahern)

For the purpose of this reply, the term "public sector pay" is taken to mean the Exchequer Pay and Pensions Bill which covers the cost to the Exchequer of the pay and pensions of civil servants, the defence forces, gardaí and the education sector together with the amounts for pay and pensions included in grants to health boards and other agencies in the health services and to non-commercial State-sponsored bodies.

The Budget Estimate for Exchequer Pay and Pensions in 1994 is £4,278 million. It is estimated that this amount will need to be increased by a further 2 per cent or £85 million to meet the cost of pay increases provided for in the proposals for a new pay agreement under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, bringing the total estimated requirement for 1994 to £4,363 million.

Over the period of theProgramme for Economic and Social Progress, the Exchequer Pay and Pensions Bill increased as follows:

Year	% Increase
1991	7.3
1992	10.9
1993	9.2

These increases represent, in the main, the cost of general increases under theProgramme for Economic and Social Progress, of special increases deferred under the Programme for National Recovery and of improvements in services.

It is estimated that costs of Exchequer Pay and Pensions in the years 1994 to 1997 will increase as follows:

Year	% Increase
1994	6.2
1995	2.7
1996	2.8
1997	3.5

The amount shown for 1994 includes the carryover costs of pay increases in 1993 (1.4 per cent), increments and the cost of service improvements, totalling 4.2 per cent, and the estimated cost (2 per cent) of implementing the proposals for a pay agreement in the public service under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work.

The amounts shown for 1995, 1996 and 1997 cover the estimated costs of implementing the proposals for the new pay agreement only. These amounts will need to be adjusted in due course by a provision for increments to public servants on incremental pay scales, estimated roughly at 0.8 per cent per annum, and any decisions on service improvements over the period. As regards service improvements, it is the Government's intention that they be achieved out of extra efficiency rather than by increased numbers of staff.

The amount shown for 1997 reflects (a) the fact that the proposals for a new pay agreement in the public service span a period of three and a half years and (b) the carryover costs of increases to apply late in 1996.