Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

-----along with a number of other changes to social welfare schemes and entitlements.

Extra Fuel Allowance Payment

In view of the harsh weather conditions experienced in recent weeks, I am allocating an additional €14 million to the fuel allowance scheme to enable a payment of €40 to households that receive the fuel allowance payment. The Department of Social Protection is putting measures in place to roll out this additional payment as soon as possible and many households will receive this payment this year.

Helping the Unemployed

We know from the 1980s the importance of equipping the unemployed with skills and keeping them close to the labour market. To that end, we are refocusing the national employment action plan to establish clearer pathways to employment by ensuring that State agencies interact early and often with those who have lost their jobs to provide opportunities for education, training or work experience placements as appropriate.

Building on the work placements and training places that have already been introduced, I am providing for an additional 15,000 activation places and supports for the unemployed at a cost of about €200 million.

- The skills development and internship programme will provide up to 5,000 places in the private sector with a contribution from that sector of an additional €38 million or so to pay some of the costs of the internships.

- The work placement programme will provide up to 5,000 places in the public service. The Tánaiste announced the scheme in the education sector last week and similar announcements for other sectors will be made by Ministers over the coming months.

- A new community work placement scheme will provide up to 5,000 additional places in the community and voluntary sector.

The labour activation measures will be complemented by the extension of the employer job (PRSI) incentive scheme to the end of 2011 and by the transformation of the business expansion scheme into a new employment and investment incentive.

The national recovery plan provides for reform of the labour market and the removal of barriers to job creation resulting from the current level of the minimum wage and inflexible employment agreements. The aim here is to provide more job opportunities, especially for the young.

We will continue to spend significant sums on investment to sustain growth and jobs. The Exchequer capital programme will amount to some 3.6% of GNP in 2011. This programme will be augmented by the investment programmes of the commercial State sponsored bodies.

In addition, the National Pensions Reserve Fund has confirmed it is willing to invest in Irish infrastructure assets on a commercial basis in partnership with third party institutional investors. The Government will help identify opportunities for the NPRF and other private investors.

I want to acknowledge the substantial contribution made by public servants to national recovery to date. In my Department I see, day in day out and at weekends, the commitment above and beyond the call of duty shown by civil servants who have accepted significant pay cuts. More work is being done with fewer staff at lower cost. This is real public service reform.

To meet our targets, the cost of delivering public services must fall further. Savings will continue to be made through planned reductions in the number of public servants and through greater efficiencies in the way public services are delivered.

Despite the economic constraints, the Government has abided by the Croke Park agreement on pay, compulsory redundancies and pension terms. Public servants, their unions and their managers, for their part, must keep their commitments to pursue flexibilities and reforms in every part and level of the public service. We have made commitments to a continued reduction in the cost of the public service. If the Government is to be held to its side of the agreement, those reductions must be delivered.

The Taoiseach and Ministers have already taken substantial reductions in their pay. The effect of the pension levy and the pay cuts introduced earlier this year amount to 28% in the case of the Taoiseach and 23% in the case of Ministers. The changes in PRSI introduced in this budget as they affect officeholders will bring about a further reduction in net pay for all office holders. Nonetheless, the Government has decided to introduce another reduction in the salaries of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Ministers. The salary of the Taoiseach will be reduced by over €14,000 per annum and the salary of Ministers will be reduced by over €10,000 per annum. This brings the overall reduction in the gross pay of the Taoiseach to over €90,000 and in the case of Ministers to over €60,000. Details to changes in the Government's transportation arrangements and Ministers' pay and pensions are set out in the accompanying documentation.

The Government believes there should be a maximum salary rate of €250,000 in the public sector. Only a few officeholder posts have salaries above this level at present but there is a larger number in the State agencies. While there are issues about the contractual position of incumbent post holders, I think the position of the Minister for Finance as a shareholder or statutory stakeholder in these companies can be used to enforce the objective of the maximum salary within a reasonable timeframe.

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