Howlin says pay deal for public servants ‘certainly not’ guaranteed

A deal to restore pay to public sector workers is "certainly not" guaranteed, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has said. However, he said the Government would implement the Haddington Road agreement "in full" for those earning over €65,000.

Part of the agreement “is the winding back of some of the pay reductions during the course of 2016 and 2017 and into 2018, if I recall”, he said.

Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald had asked the Minister how he planned to roll back measures brought in during the financial emergency which cut pay and pensions. Mr Howlin said pay and pensions would “be addressed in parallel”.

Ms McDonald pointed to comments by one of the Minister’s senior officials who was “sounding warnings that a public service pay deal was not certain” and the officials “seemed to be throwing cold water on any notion of such a pay deal”.

The Minister said: “On whether a public pay deal is certain, the answer is certainly not.” He said the Haddington Road agreement was far from certain and “its first iteration was rejected and we had to go again”. He hoped he could “secure an agreement and that we can have an organised approach to restoring pay to the public service”. He intended “early next quarter” to “open the books” and engage with public service unions.

Mr Howlin warned, however, that “the public service pay bill must be maintained at sustainable levels”. He acknowledged that public servants had contributed “in no small part” to the economic recovery, and said the emergency legislation resulted in “about €2.2 billion in reduced public service remuneration and pensions”.

An “immediate restoration” of all the reductions could not be sustained and he sought a “gradual unwinding”. He said public sector workers had not received an increase for seven years and those earning above €65,000 had had three pay cuts.

Ms McDonald noted he was highlighting those in that pay category and asked if his priority would be on public servants on the lowest pay rates. Mr Howlin said he would implement the Haddington Road agreement in full for those on more than €65,000.