GOVERNMENT MINISTERS have collectively agreed to take substantial cuts in salary to set an example ahead of anticipated, and contentious, reductions in the public-sector pay bill, a senior Minister has said.
Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe yesterday confirmed that the report from the Body on Higher Remuneration had been discussed by Cabinet this week and that Ministers have agreed to accept cuts.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen also said yesterday that Ministers, including himself, would lead by example in this regard.
Mr O’Keeffe said Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan conveyed to colleagues at the meeting that a significant cut was to be imposed, in addition to the 10 per cent voluntary pay cut taken by Ministers in September 2008.
“He will find agreement among Cabinet members that it is appropriate at this point in time to take a further cut,” said Mr O’Keeffe, who was speaking in Cork.
“Most of us, we all agree that we can take further cuts,” he added.
For his part, the Taoiseach said that Government would “obviously act” on the recommendations of the report and set an example for other public-sector workers who will see their salaries being decreased.
“An example has to be given from the top. We have a very serious financial situation that is going to have to be addressed and people can be assured that from the top down, from myself, a good example will be given in that regard,” said Mr Cowen.
Yesterday, Fine Gael enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar said he expected them to be in a range of 20 to 30 per cent, based on comparable salaries in other European countries.
A figure closer to 15 per cent was being mooted by some internal sources, bringing the aggregate cut in salary for Ministers since last September to 25 per cent, excluding the pension levy. However, they emphasised that the figure was speculative.
The report examines the pay levels of an estimated 1,600 higher earners in the public sector, including Ministers, senior civil servants, high-ranking gardaí and Army personnel, university heads, and heads of State agencies and bodies. However, it is anticipated the Government will impose pay cuts across most grades in the public sector in the December budget.
The report is also believed to review the pay levels of judges.
However, Article 35.5 of the Constitution states the remuneration of judges shall not be reduced during their continuance in office.
Several Ministers and senior Government sources have told The Irish Timesa mechanism must be found to impose the same reductions on judges as will be faced by all other sectors.
Ministers, speaking on condition of anonymity, have pointed out that judges have benefited from substantial increases recommended by the review body in the past, including the first phase of substantial increases recommended by the 2007 report.
They believe some means must be found other than the voluntary scheme for pensions.
The latest figures show only 50 per cent of judges had made voluntary contributions up until last month, although it is expected that take-up will increase dramatically by the end of 2009.
One Minister said there may be a precedent for judicial pay cuts dating from the 1930s but that its rationale may no longer be applicable.
Separately, Minister for Health Mary Harney said yesterday, that if the Government did not cut public expenditure by 30 per cent “then others will come in, like the IMF, and overnight they will make decisions”.