Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether it is necessary to re-examine the figures in the context of the provision of €0.3 billion in 2017 and 2018; his strategy for the succession for the Lansdowne Road agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36753/16]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister outline his proposals for a successor agreement to the Lansdowne Road agreement? The negotiations for such an agreement will have to get under way in any event in early 2017 to be ready for budget 2018. Will the Minister have to re-examine the figures for the agreement for the 2017 and 2018 budgets?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Lansdowne Road agreement is a collective agreement between the Government and public service employers with the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and other associations representing public servants. The agreement provides for a sustainable adjustment of the existing measures under the financial emergency measures legislation. The terms of the Lansdowne Road agreement have been implemented through the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015.

The estimated cost of the implementation of the Lansdowne Road agreement is €267 million in 2016, €290 million in 2017, €287 million in 2018 or a cumulative €844 million out to 2018. In addition, the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 also makes provision for an adjustment in the rates of reduction applied to public service pensions in payment at an additional cost of €30 million in each of the years 2016 to 2018. I have no plans to revisit these estimates.

A successor collective agreement to the Lansdowne Road agreement needs to be negotiated. I have already outlined, prior to recent events, the timeframe for that. The public service pay commission has been tasked with providing an initial report to the Government on public service remuneration in the context of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2009 and 2015. The findings of the commission will contribute to and inform the Government's considerations of public service remuneration. It will also inform public service employers in negotiations with staff interests on a successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement. The commission will report in the second quarter of 2017.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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There have been statements from the other party to the Lansdowne Road agreement, the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, that it wants to see a successor agreement move further. I understand it has given the Minister some space to work on proposals. Will he outline what contacts he has had with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions? Has it tabled any formal proposals around pay for 2017 which may require additional resources from any Department?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I have met the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions on one occasion since the issuing of the Labour Court recommendation. My officials have been in contact with the representatives and met them on at least two occasions since. With regard to the discussions, the representatives have made two key points publicly. They have said they want the kinds of benefit that were conferred under the Labour Court recommendation. They want comparable benefits for their members. They have said they want accelerated negotiations on wage restoration, leading to a faster pace of restoration in the future. They have been very clear publicly on these matters.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Were their proposals to be implemented, how much would it cost per month in 2017? A catalyst for much of this was the recommendation of the Labour Court in the dispute involving An Garda Síochána. The Minister and the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, have indicated that it will cost some €50 million to implement. Has the Government outlined from where that money will come? Will it come from within existing Estimates, or does the Minister anticipate a Supplementary Estimate, either from the Department of Justice and Equality, his own Department or some other part of government, bearing in mind that if the Labour Court recommendation on Garda pay has been accepted, the money will have to be paid from January, in six weeks time? We need to make some sense of this now.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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What was the Deputy's first question?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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How much would the ICTU proposals cost to implement?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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All of the discussions to date have been on processes concerning the future of the Lansdowne Road agreement. I am not in a position to give the Deputy a cost or a proposal ICTU might make to me in the future. Overall, the cost of any adjustment to the Lansdowne Road agreement per month is between €25 million and €35 million.

On the Deputy's questions about An Garda Síochána and how the pay increase will be paid for, I will work on the matter with the Minister for Justice and Equality across 2017. I am awaiting the result of the ballot that is due in a week's time. In its aftermath, we will engage on the issues the Deputy is raising with me. Obviously, the result of the ballot will have a fundamental effect on the cost and what might need to be paid for.

On the Labour Court recommendation, I have one broad point. There appeared to be consensus within the House. The triggering of the WRC and the Labour Court to deal with these issues was the correct approach. They became involved because they were independent bodies. Had the Government decided it would not accept such a recommendation, it would have caused great difficulties in the management of industrial relations in the future. I acknowledge that accepting the recommendation has created a different set of consequences which the Deputy is raising with me.