Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, has invited ASTI to meet him. We want to avoid an increment freeze and every opportunity will be taken to deal with the outstanding issues. On entry levels of pay, very difficult decisions were taken in recent years and many people, including gardaí and teachers, were affected by them, given that they were subject to the same public service pay reductions as all other public servants.

Like other public servants they have benefitted from some of the restorations introduced by the changes in the FEMPI legislation. The report on the FEMPI legislation will be laid before the House before tomorrow.

We commit to the establishment of a commission for public sector pay to examine pay levels across the public service, and this morning I inquired about its setting up. Officials in the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform are working to establish that commission. The background work is being done and the intention is to move ahead with it as soon as the background work is completed in the coming months.

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