David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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32. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of the review of the financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation which must take place before 30 June 2016; how the review sits with his statement that the Lansdowne Road agreement is the only game in town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13250/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As this is my first opportunity to take questions as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I look forward to working with Deputies Dara Calleary and David Cullinane. I especially acknowledge the contribution of the former Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin, who conducted himself in this role and led the Department for many years. I always had an appreciation of the great contribution he made to restoring the country's fortunes and now that I find myself in the place where I am taking on the role he played, that appreciation is even greater. I will always hold to this when he uses his expertise to put questions to me about what I am doing.

Moving on to Deputy David Cullinane's question, under section 12 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest, FEMPI, Act 2013, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is required to review the necessity to have the FEMPI legislation annually and cause a written report on the findings to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. The most recent report made under the 2013 Act was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas by the then Minister on 29 June last year. In that report the Minister found that, having regard to the purposes of the relevant Acts, the overall economic conditions in the State, national competitiveness and Exchequer commitments in respect of public service pay and pensions, the measures put in place by the FEMPI Acts 2009 to 2013 continued to be needed in 2015. However, the review also noted that for 2016, out to September 2018, the Government had approved proposals which subsequently gave rise to the Lansdowne Road agreement. The FEMPI Act 2015 included a series of measures, including the gradual unwinding of the pay reduction measures as they applied to public servants in line with the Lansdowne Road agreement and the amelioration of public service pension reductions applying to retired public servants.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The estimated costs of the measures which are being implemented from 1 January 2016 in respect of public service pay and pensions on a full year basis in 2018 are €844 million and €90 million, respectively.

As Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I am required to undertake a further review of the necessity to have the FEMPI legislation and report to the Oireachtas before 30 June. That report is being prepared to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I wish the Minister and the Minister of State well in their new jobs and also the members of other parties who have been appointed spokespersons for this brief.

I thank the Minister for his response, although my question was whether he believed the Lansdowne Road agreement was, as he said publicly, the only show in town. He is right in that he has to report to the Oireachtas on extending the FEMPI legislation. I understand this, but we also have a programme for Government in which the Government has committed to the establishment of a public sector pay commission and which also refers to dealing with the issues of pay equality and pay equalisation. How and when will that happen? When will the teachers and nurses on different pay scales because they happened to enter the public sector in 2011 but who are doing exactly the same job as others be treated fairly and on the basis of equality? They deserve to know the Minister's intentions in this matter.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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On the Deputy's first question as to why I believe the Lansdowne Road agreement is the only game in town, as I have said publicly, the reason I made this claim is evident in the result of the vote by the Teachers Union of Ireland announced last night, which I welcome. I also welcome the huge effort put in by the union and the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton and his officials. We now have another union in the State which recognises the value and protection the Lansdowne Road agreement can offer to its members and the way it can offer a framework to enable them to progress.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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A parting gift to the Minister.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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One of many gifts. If Deputy David Cullinane wants proof as to the reason the agreement is the only game in town, the most recent can be in the vote last night. The reason I have made the claim about the Lansdowne Road agreement and the broad FEMPI legislation measures is that they offer the only framework in which we can manage the need for better public services and at the same time meet the wage aspirations of those who provide these public services.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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With respect, Sinn Féin has given qualified support to the Lansdowne Road agreement. We said that if we were in government, we would implement it. It is not what we wanted and we would have done it differently, but it is the agreement now in place.

As such, I do not have a difficulty with the implementation of the agreement because at long last it gives something back after years of cuts in public sector numbers and pay. My question to the Minister is on the commitment in the programme for Government to establish a public sector pay commission. When is that going to happen and how is it going to happen? The Lansdowne Road agreement did not deal with the issues of pay equalisation. The Haddington Road agreement dealt with it in some respects in that it merged some of the payscales, but it did not deal with the issue in its entirety. I am asking the Minister a straight question. How is that issue going to be dealt with?

The Minister is extending the FEMPI legislation, which is emergency legislation. Does he still believe there is an emergency? The Government talks about a recovery at every opportunity it gets, but when it comes to public sector pay, we still have an emergency and emergency legislation must be kept in place.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In order to continue and maintain the recovery that is underway, we need to ensure that our national finances are sustainable. A crucial element of that is ensuring that we have responsible wages in place for those who work in our public services so that we can meet the wage needs that they have now and in the future. The unfunded wage increase of today is the wage cut of tomorrow. I acknowledge that we are moving into a different phase in our economy, but that means the need to manage wages, whether from the point of view of the competitiveness of our economy or the affordability of our national finances, is as strong as ever.

I welcome the acknowledgement Deputy Cullinane gave to the Lansdowne Road agreement. It is very valuable that he has done so and I appreciate him noting that in our first engagement here in the House. In regard to the role of the public service wage commission, I am required under the Lansdowne Road agreement to consult with all participants in that agreement before we set up any new process for how we look at matters. We aim to begin that consultation in the coming weeks.