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

I have always been very clear about recognising the huge contribution our public servants make to our State and our economy, and I am very happy to make that clear again. Deputy Calleary used the example of the gardaí and the huge contribution they make to keeping our streets and communities safe. I will develop his analysis further. The pay commission accepts that in certain specific areas there may be an issue, but that issue is likely to be generated by a variety of reasons. Pay could be one of them but there could be other matters such as career development, training, workplace morale and so on. If the Deputy is going to argue that pay is a cause of a recruitment or retention issue, the largest single contribution we can make to increasing pay is seeing if we can afford to unwind the FEMPI measures. They are measures that offer the potential to benefit people at all levels within the public service and Civil Service. However, as I have said on a number of occasions, this has to be in a way that recognises the many other priorities and pressures we face, such as improving services and investing in the many needs we have in our schools and hospitals.

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