Benchmarking body: what is it

The public service benchmarking body was established by the Government two years to carry out a fundamental examination of pay…

The public service benchmarking body was established by the Government two years to carry out a fundamental examination of pay of employees in the public service compared with levels applying in the private sector.

In its terms of reference the Government said that the body, in reaching its recommendations should have regard to:

• the need to recruit, retain and motivate staff with the qualifications, skills and flexibility required to exercise their different responsibilities;

• the need to support ongoing modernisation of the public service;

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• the need to ensure equity between employees in the public and private sectors;

• the need to underpin the country's competitiveness and continued economic prosperity.

The members of the body are Dan O'Keeffe SC, chairman; Billy Attley, former general secretary of Siptu; Olive Braiden, Arts Council, and former chairwoman of justice sector performance verification group; John Malone, former secretary general of the Department of Agriculture and Food; Tom McKevitt, former deputy general secretary of the Public Service Executive Union; Willie Slattery, managing director, State Street International (Ireland) Ltd; and Prof Brendan Walsh, Emeritus Professor of Economics, UCD.