Martin Mansergh (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

The NTMA staff are excluded from the pay cuts, although they are covered by the pension levy. Pay in the NTMA is determined in a manner similar to the excluded commercial State bodies and there is no Government control of pay rates. Therefore, it is not appropriate to make the cuts. If Deputies wish to know why the NTMA sets its own pay rates, it is because it was established as a designated debt management agency in the 1980s, outside of the Department of Finance. This was at a time when there was serious competition for specialised staff. In order to retain staff and reward them appropriately, it was necessary to give the NTMA flexibility to set pay rates in accordance with the market, rather than be constrained by Civil Service pay rates.

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