Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Catherine Martin. In the few minutes I have I will just confine my comments to the report published March 16 entitled "Examination of Remaining Salary Scale Issues in Respect of Post January 2011 Recruits at Entry Grades". The purpose of that report was to lay out the options for the resolution of the unequal pay structures that were institutionalised as part of the national recovery plan and which have affected recruits from January 2011 onwards. I note that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform made the following assertion in a response to a parliamentary question on 22 March:

It seems to be popular in some quarters to assert that the public service no longer represents an attractive career option, that there is a crisis in recruitment and a continuing focus on the difficulties within the public service.

My concern is that much of this can be counterproductive. The truth is that the public service is a good employer by any objective measurement. Public service offers a comprehensive set of terms and conditions, flexible working arrangements, decent pension provisions, fair wages that increase over time and secure employment.

That may be correct in a number of aspects but it is not in respect of fair wages.

The Minister of State went on to say the report bore this out and that this was evidenced by the fact that more than 60,000 people had been hired as new entrants on the unequal pay scale since 2011. The Minister of State, in making this assertion, is really quite disingenuous. What he claims is not the case. That recruitment has continued apace is not because of pay inequality but in spite of it. There are many other reasons people are keen to get into the public service. We know that many realise very quickly it is very difficult to survive on the pay rates that are currently available. To try to dress this up in any other way, as the Minister of State did, is quite disingenuous. The simple fact is that in many fields graduates are voting with their feet and simply choosing to emigrate. Pay is undoubtedly a significant factor in this. The example of the nursing profession is one that immediately springs to mind. According to an INMO study, the purchasing power parity of nurses in public sector hospitals and right across our health service, both at community and hospital levels, compares badly with that in other countries. Crucially, the purchasing power parity of nurses in Ireland is below that in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the destinations to which we know Irish nurses are most likely to emigrate.

There is a similar pattern in the teaching profession. According to the INTO, there has been a significant upswing in the number of qualified teachers emigrating in recent years. Its figures suggest that pay inequality is one of the main reasons approximately 700 primary teachers leave the primary payroll each year other than for retirement. This is the lived reality for those on pay that is lower than that of their colleagues working alongside them. It is easier for them to live elsewhere.

Hospitals and schools report dire problems with recruiting and retaining staff. Unequal pay is undoubtedly a factor in this. Our education and health services are suffering as a result of Government policy on pay. While the economic circumstances that led to the imposition of the FEMPI cuts have passed, it is not been the case that a rising tide has lifted all boats. This has definitely not been the case in regard to those on low wages in the public sector.

The report makes reference to the sectoral pay increases that have been awarded and that benefit the lower paid in the public service but these have simply not kept pace with the rising cost of living for those who have been affected by unequal pay for new entrants. A point I made previously and that bears repeating is that the imposition of these cuts has seriously and negatively impacted upon the ability of those entering the public sector to build a life for themselves. It should be the case that people who have studied hard and who have proceeded to work in the very important professions of teaching and nursing and in the Garda should be able to have a reasonable expectation of a decent life on the salary they receive. Unfortunately, that is not the case any longer. That is a shameful reflection on Government pay policy. We are paying a very significant price for that.

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