Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The timeframe that has been set and agreed by Mr. Duffy and the Public Pay Commission is that their work will report across the second quarter, which refers to April, May and June. I hope that they meet that timeline. When they publish their report, the Government and representatives of public service employees will then need a period of time to digest the report and comment on it because I anticipate that it will be a significant piece of work. My current target is to be commencing negotiations with trade union representatives well before the summer. I am under no illusion but that these will be difficult negotiations and discussions for both sides. Everyone in the House should be clear about that. The reason they will be difficult refers to the figures I shared with the Deputy a moment ago. The total cost of the FEMPI wage restoration that has not occurred is €1.4 billion per annum. Therefore, all the negotiations that need to take place will be challenging. However, I will approach them in good faith as I know the other interlocutors will too. I remain convinced of the need for a collective agreement and the events of recent months have shown to me even more clearly why such an approach is needed.

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