The public service benchmarking body established under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness is currently in the middle of its deliberations and is due to produce its recommendations by 30 June 2002. I believe, in these circumstances, that it would be entirely inappropriate for me to make any comment whatsoever on this matter, lest my comments be perceived as an attempt to influence the deliberations of the Honourable Mr. Justice Quirke and his colleagues.
What I can say is that every public service trade union and representative association was afforded the opportunity to make written and oral submissions to the benchmarking body and, to the best of my knowledge, all did. However, the pay increases, if any, to be awarded on foot of these submissions, are matters for the benchmarking body alone to consider.
The benchmarking process is a genuine attempt to set pay levels for the Irish public service in the context of the Irish economy. Benchmarking represents an open, independent, innovative and progressive way of tackling the issue of setting appropriate pay levels. The process has provided the Defence Forces representative associations with an opportunity to present their case in relation to their members' pay levels.