THE HEAD of the Republic’s largest public service union is expected to argue today that staff on the State payroll have taken a greater financial hit than any other sector.
In a speech to a conference on the Croke Park agreement on public service reform, Shay Cody, general secretary of Impact, is also expected to maintain that 10,000 jobs have also been lost in the public service in recent times.
He will point out that 5,000 posts in local authorities – 13 per cent of the total – have gone in the period between mid-2008 and early 2010. He is also likely to say that additional job losses in State-supported agencies are inevitable as a result of cuts in budgets.
Mr Cody is expected to contend that the Government’s approach to rescuing the banks seems to be draining the country’s life blood.
He is likely to highlight that public service staff have experienced a 7 per cent cut in pay on average under the pension levy and a further 7 per cent under the cuts in last year’s Budget on top of additional levies and taxation applied to all workers.
Meanwhile, the president of Siptu has said it is “quite embarrassed” about reports of payments from State funds into a controversial bank account linked to Siptu.
Speaking yesterday for the first time publicly about the controversy, Jack O’Connor said “a very rigorous investigation” was under way and should be completed in the next few weeks. It emerged in recent months that about €3 million in State funding was paid into an account known as the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund. Siptu has maintained repeatedly this is not one of its authorised accounts.
About €2.3 million came from a payment made by the Department of Health through the HSE’s Skill training programme while last week the State’s financial watchdog, the Comptroller and Auditor General, revealed that nearly €900,000 in additional funding was paid into the account from a body called the Health Services National Partnership Forum. Some of this partnership funding was disbursed from the Siptu National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund to other trade unions.
Last week, The Irish Timesrevealed that Impact and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are, between them, to repay nearly €250,000 which they received under the partnership programme.
Speaking to Ivan Yates on Newstalk radio yesterday, Mr O’Connor said a very reputable accountancy firm was examining the account. He said a rigorous investigation was also being carried out by the union’s trustees.
Asked if he was concerned about the reports regarding the account, Mr O’Connor said “we should always be concerned if it is a question about the use or otherwise of public money”.
“Quite frankly here in Siptu we are quite embarrassed about the reports out there,” he added.
Mr O’Connor said it was expected that the outcome of the investigations would be known in the coming weeks and “we will be able to explain the position”.