Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

As the Deputy is aware from my previous replies, on 5 December last, during my address on the 2012 Expenditure Estimates, I announced that a review of allowances and premium payments would be carried out by my Department. This announcement was made on foot of a Government decision which requires the public service to take additional measures to deliver further efficiencies in 2012 and thereby ensure the pay bill targets which have been set are met, with a view to delivering additional pay savings in 2013 and subsequent years. The measures include a reduction of 10%, or approximately €40 million, in overtime payments in 2012. This is being achieved by means of a reduction in allocations for overtime by that amount. To date, my Department has received well over 800 business cases in respect of allowances and premium payments. As a result of resource constraints, the volume of submissions to be evaluated and the complexity and variance of allowances across all sectors, it has not been possible to complete the review in a short timeframe. Indeed, agencies and Departments are continuing to propose business cases and seek further explanations in advance of the completion of the review. I will bring proposals to the Government in relation to the findings of the review as soon as it has been completed. In the interim, urgent business case requests are being processed, in so far as possible, to ensure the work of the public service is not unduly disrupted by the review. The outcome of the review of particular allowances will be communicated to Departments and subsequently made public. I have indicated my expectation that further discussions with the relevant staff representative bodies will be required before we reach that point.

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