I propose to take Questions Nos. 273 to 279, inclusive, and 281 and 282 together.
The key objective of the Haddington Road Agreement is to facilitate an underlying cost reduction of €1 billion in the Public Service Pay and Pensions Bill by 2016. The clear measure on which the delivery of the Haddington Road Agreement must be judged, therefore, is the impact that the various measures have on the overall Public Service Exchequer Pay and Pensions Bill, while facilitating the maintenance and provision of necessary public services in a period of intense resource constraint.
It is clear that the Agreement has facilitated, and will continue to facilitate, significant reductions in the Public Service Exchequer Pay and Pensions Bill. This is evident from the fact that the net Public Service Exchequer Pay Bill reduced by €210 million in 2013. This reduction was enabled, in large part, by the implementation of various measures in the first 6 months of the Haddington Road Agreement. The underlying savings have also allowed some recruitment to frontline services, particularly in the Health and Education Sector. More generally, it should be noted that the Public Service Exchequer Pay Bill will have been reduced by 22% from €17.5 billion gross in 2009 to an estimated €14.6 billion gross, or €13.6 billion net, by the end of 2014.
The savings arising from the implementation of various measures in the Agreement are incorporated in advance in the context of the Estimates process each year. It is then the responsibility of Public Service Management and each Department's Accounting Officer to deliver the required level of savings through complete implementation of the various reforms and workplace changes which the Agreement enables to ensure that their respective Pay Bill targets are met.
In 2013, the total amount of allocated savings arising from the implementation of measures under the Agreement was almost €300 million. Of this total, approximately €251 million was allocated to Exchequer pay savings with further savings of €46 million arising from pensions and a number of other non-Exchequer sources (e.g. Local Authorities, Central Bank).
In 2014, a further €465 million in savings arising from the implementation of measures under the Agreement was incorporated into the budgetary arithmetic. This reflects the full year impact of various measures implemented in 2013, as well as measures which are to be implemented in 2014, such as the deferral of incremental progression. This brings the total amount of savings allocated to date under the Agreement to €762 million.
Specifically, the pay reduction to those earning over €65,000, will deliver approximately €210 million of the targeted €1 billion in savings over the lifetime of the Agreement. Other central measures, including pension reductions and increment pauses, will deliver in the order of €130 million, bringing the total amount of savings from central measures to over €340 million by 2016.
Summary of savings from Central measures
|
Full year
|
Reduction in higher pay
|
€210 million
|
Increment deferrals
|
€60 million
|
Other measures - including pensions
|
€72 million
|
Total
|
€342 milllion
|
With approximately two years remaining in the lifetime of the Agreement, over 75% (€762 million) of the €1 billion reduction targeted has been incorporated into the relevant Votes. The Agreement has also facilitated additional recruitment in front line posts. In relation to further savings to be delivered under the Agreement, these savings will be reflected in the various Vote allocations as appropriate, in the context of the overall Estimates process.