THE GOVERNMENT appears to have ruled out the prospect of staff in the public service receiving money back from the savings generated under the Croke Park agreement on public service pay and reform.
The Government has also signalled that it will be seeking to increase the pace of reform in the public service under the deal.
One of the key selling points of the agreement for many public service workers was the potential it held out that they could get back some of the money lost as a result of pay cuts and the pension levy over the last two years.
However, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said yesterday there was “no likelihood of anybody getting money back in the foreseeable future”. The Minister said his task was “to protect wage packets as they are”.
The Minister yesterday published the first official review of the Croke Park agreement which found that payroll savings of €289 million and non-pay savings of €308 million were generated.
The review, drawn up by the Croke Park Implementation Body, found that 5,349 staff had left the public service over the last year and that the pay bill savings targets had been exceeded.
However, although maintaining “we are on track, very much on track”, the Minster warned that “further significant cuts in expenditure, coupled with further substantial reductions in the numbers employed in the public service, are unavoidable”.
The Department of Finance said last night the Government had not yet set out the exact targets for reducing both the numbers employed in the public service and the overall pay bill for next year.
The Minster again warned yesterday that if the savings targets were not reached the Government would have no option but to impose further pay cuts.
Mr Howlin said the next step would be for Taoiseach Enda Kenny and himself to meet the Croke Park Implementation Body. Talks are also to take place with public service trade unions.
The Minister also said new plans for reform would be set out by various Government departments and agencies.
Last night a spokeswoman for the Department of Finance said: “The implementation body will be meeting with sectoral managements in the coming weeks to discuss their action plans and how progress can be accelerated in light of the challenges ahead.
“Later this year I understand that the body will be reviewing progress again, and will revisit action plans to reflect the outcome of the Government’s comprehensive review of expenditure, due in the autumn.”
The largest public service union, Impact, said the report had confirmed that public servants had delivered the required savings and reforms in the first year of the agreement, but acknowledged further changes must be delivered.
The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association said while some progress had been made, the pace of reform was too slow, with the level of savings generated to date “negligible in comparison to what is urgently required to address the exchequer deficit”.
