Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The pay of public servants is set by reference to rates in the private sector. The review body, like the benchmarking body, the Labour Court and the arbitration boards, is part of the established pay determination machinery. Both the review body and the benchmarking body compared public sector jobs to jobs of equal value in the private sector. The review body found that the salaries of many senior public service posts were below private sector levels even when allowance was made for the value of pensions.

The benchmarking body found the majority of public service grades had not fallen behind private sector rates at equivalent levels. The benchmarking body's comparisons were with the weighted average of private sector rates. The review body comparisons were made with the lower quartile of the private sector rates. Furthermore, they did not attach significant weight to published information on the remuneration packages of the chief executives of the top Irish plcs. As the review pointed out, the overall effect of the review is that the salaries recommended are below the average levels of salaries of comparable posts in the private sector. Pay determination mechanisms are in place. They represent the established procedures by which these matters are addressed. What has not been suggested to me in terms of an alternative is what anomalies are created by not accepting recommendations coming from such bodies. Doing so would create more anomalies than those we seek to eliminate.

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