Exemptions to pay cuts 'sneaked in' - Garda group

THE ASSOCIATION of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has criticised the Government for “sneaking in” exemptions to some pay…

THE ASSOCIATION of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) has criticised the Government for “sneaking in” exemptions to some pay cuts for civil servants following the Budget. The Department of Finance announced alterations to some public service pay cuts in a circular dated December 22nd.

The association’s general secretary, Joe Dirwan, claimed the Government’s rollback on some pay cuts was “unequal”. Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland yesterday, he said: “The Government, in a highly principled and publicised way, introduced pay cuts across the public service. We all understood that they were to apply equally and with a degree of fairness. What has happened in the meantime is, in my view, they sneaked in exemptions to higher-paid officials in the public service, including [some] gardaí.”

Mr Dirwan claimed that some higher-paid officials, including assistant secretaries and deputy secretaries general, will now only take a 4 per cent cut in their basic pay, whereas middle and lower-paid officials will take a 5-8 per cent cut.

“Those people earn vastly high salaries. For example, if you take the Deputy [Garda] Commissioner, they earn three times more than the people that I represent, and we have to take a 6.6 per cent pay cut on basic pay, whereas their pay cut is 4 per cent.”

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Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan said the number of civil servants receiving these altered pay cuts was “restricted” to about 160 in total. He explained that the abolition of their performance-related bonuses, coupled with a higher-than-average pension levy and the full impact of the most recent pay cut, “would have left them more disadvantaged than any other public servant”.

“They’re not paid overtime for any additional work they do, their bonuses were abolished, and in all those circumstances the Government took the view that it would be reasonable to make an exceptional arrangement for them given all those anomalies,” Mr Lenihan added.

AGSI’s criticism follows Fine Gael’s accusations that the Government used underhand tactics to protect higher-paid public servants from pay cuts.

“The Government’s decision to reduce the level of pay cuts at senior grades, on the basis that a separate bonus scheme was suspended some time ago, is underhand and unjustified,” said the party’s finance spokesman, Richard Bruton.

Mr Bruton said he would raise the issue in the Dáil at the earliest opportunity, when it resumes later in the month.