Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 4: To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated public service payroll savings in each year, from 2010 to 2015, inclusive, arising from the Croke Park Agreement; in which sections of the public service he will introduce redundancy programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34224/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, over the past two years, the Government has taken a series of difficult but critical steps which have generated significant reductions in the potential public service pay bill. As a consequence, the public service pay roll will be more than 8% less in 2010 compared to 2009 and nearly 12% less than in 2008. These measures include the non-payment of proposed general round increases under the review and transitional agreement, the application of a pension related deduction of an average of nearly 7% to the earnings of all public servants and, at the beginning of this year, a reduction in the rates of pay and allowances for public servants was implemented under the terms of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009.

In addition to these measures, the introduction of a general moratorium on recruitment and promotion together with incentivised early retirement and career break schemes and natural turnover of public servants who retire or leave has led to a reduction in the number of public servants employed by almost 11,000 since March 2009. Government policy on staff numbers in the public service is reflected in employment control frameworks for each sector of the public service. The continued application of the frameworks across the public service will result in a further reduction in public service employee numbers up to 2012.

The agreement provides that, where circumstances warrant it, the Government may offer voluntary mechanisms to exit the public service, either generally or targeted towards specific sectors or bodies. However, having regard to reduction in numbers I have already noted and the continued application of the employment control frameworks, the Government has no present plans to introduce further schemes. The effective implementation of the agreement and the efficiencies and other measures which will arise from that will provide a sustainable framework to manage the provision and delivery of our essential public services despite the reductions in public service numbers and in a period of unprecedented pressure on resources.

Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister indicated that a reduction of 11,000 staff had been recorded up to March 2009. What are the projections for reductions in staff from 2009 until 2015 under the Croke Park agreement? Will the Minister provide annualised figures?

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The reduction of 11,000 has been achieved since March 2009. I will undertake to provide the Deputy with the information he seeks as I do not have information on projected reductions in numbers to hand. Clearly, that projection could be influenced by budgetary decisions taken by the Government.

Michael Noonan (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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If I recall correctly, the Croke Park agreement includes a fail-safe mechanism providing that the Government would not necessarily be bound by the agreement under certain adverse economic circumstances. Will the Minister remind me of the terms of this provision? Are we approaching press-the-button time, so to speak?

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The agreement includes a clause that in extraordinary circumstances the Government has certain options. There are no proposals before my Department at present to activate it.