Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The proposal published yesterday was negotiated between the Department of Finance and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU. It has been welcomed by some unions such as SIPTU and Fórsa, while others have given a more muted response and some have given a negative response. It is now up to people to make a decision for themselves and ballot as to whether it should be accepted.

To bring about equal payscales in one go would cost €200 million and we just do not have that money for next year if we are to invest in housing, health and all the areas that Members are calling on us to invest in. We have agreed with ICTU a staged restoration of basic salaries over a number of years in a way that is affordable and does not mean we would have to find the money by reducing services, cutting back on new schools or anything like that. It is important to point out that of the 60,000 new and recent entrants to the public service who will benefit, 58% or 35,750 will benefit from year 1, which is next March. Of the total, 78% will benefit by year 2, with many receiving substantial uplifts in pay. Ultimately, if the proposals are agreed, we will be able to accommodate them in the budget. Something that would cost much more, such as what the Deputy proposes, could not be accommodated without having an impact on other spending areas, particularly health and housing. That would not be right.

See this speech in context