Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will take the latter issue first. The Government is firmly of the view that savings in pay and pensions over the next three years must bring in a net saving of €1 billion. We have set out our plan for 2013 of €300 million and the remainder in 2014 and 2015. It is against a background where three years ago the totality of public sector pay and pensions in this country was €20 billion. As of today, it is €17.5 billion. We have taken out - and, I recognise, so has the previous government - €2.5 billion over a three and a half year period. We have gone a long way but we need to go further. One way or the other, we have got to make these savings of an additional €1 billion in pay and pensions over the next three years.

This morning, the Taoiseach told the Leader of the Opposition that it is the Government's firm view that we want to do this by agreement. We think an extension of the Croke Park agreement and the mechanism provided is useful in coming to some arrangement, but difficult issues have to be resolved here. It is important to say that, with or without agreement, these savings have to be found.

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