Fine Gael leader calls for benchmarking to be shelved

The Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny has called on the Government to shelve the benchmarking process, saying the country cannot afford the €500 million award due next January.

Speaking at the opening of two-day parliamentary party meeting in Killarney, Mr Kenny said honouring the award in its current form would be "a soft option for the Government" with long-term consequences.

He said benchmarking was "a bad deal" for the taxpayer and it was sucking resources away from priority areas such as crime, transport, health and education.

"It is time to blow the whistle on this process," he said.

"For months we have hoped that something might show up to justify this pay award, but nothing has," the Fine Gael leader said..

He called on the Government to "go back to the drawing board, renegotiate" a deal that can deliver real reform.

Mr Kenny said the Government has also got to face up to the dramatic budget overrun on the National Development Plan.

"We need a radical review of the National Development Plan that re-prioritises projects that achieve the best rates of return for the country," he said.

He described the Government's refusal to use the National Pension Reserve Fund to pay for "desperately needed infrastructure in this country" as folly.

Mr Kenny also criticised what he called the Government's "mishandling" of the Laffoy Commission.

He said when the Dáil resumes his party will be looking "for answers to some critical questions about a Commission which started with such great hopes for victims but which is now in ruins".