Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I discussed the issue regarding new entrants to consultancy posts with colleagues earlier. The view of the Public Service Pay Commission, as well as mine, is that there is an issue when it comes to recruiting consultants. It noted in its report that reductions in the pay of new entrants appointed since 2012 were particularly severe. It also pointed out that the differential had, as the Deputy implied, worsened as a result of negotiating a settlement to the consultant contract cases as we did earlier in the year. It is my preference that we would enter a process as we have done with others in the public service to look at how one addresses the issue of new entrant pay. That is a discussion I am having across the Government. The process, as outlined in the Public Service Pay Commission report, will be welcomed. I do not see that directly linked to the broader conversations we are going to have about consultants, Sláintecare or contractual reform into the future.