Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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90. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline the process and procedures by which a line Department would come to his Department seeking permission for the release of funding for a pay claim; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10525/23]

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister to outline the process and procedures by which a line Department would come to his Department seeking permission for the release of funding for a pay claim.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The public service Exchequer pay bill is estimated to be almost €24 billion in 2023, which accounts for almost one third of current expenditure for the year. Details of departmental allocations are set out in the 2023 Revised Estimates Volume. Departments are required to meet pay costs from within these approved allocations. Pay in the public service has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the Croke Park agreement of 2010. These agreements have helped to ensure that public pay is managed in a sustainable way while enabling reform of public services and changes to work practices. As the Deputy is aware, discussions took place with public service unions and associations last year following the triggering of the review clause in Building Momentum by public service unions and associations due to the increased cost of living. The outcome of these discussions was a set of proposals put forward by the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, to extend Building Momentum for a period of 12 months to the end of the year. The cost of these pay adjustments under the extension is €1.6 billion over 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The original agreement also provided for a sectoral bargaining fund to be established. This was equivalent to a 1% increase in annualised basic salaries and was made available to be used as a sectoral bargaining fund. However, section 5.6.2 of the agreement provides that there will be no cost-increasing claims for improvements in pay or conditions of employment by unions, Garda and Defence Forces associations or employees during the agreement. Sectoral pay claims are a matter for the relevant Department in the first place. There are established industrial relations mechanisms in the public service where pay claims can be processed. The WRC and related institutions provide advice and assistance on industrial relations matters in the workplace to employers, employees and their representatives.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The reason I ask is because of a current industrial dispute regarding adult education tutors. As the Minister will be aware, this is a long-running campaign and some of the issues date back to the Haddington Road agreement. There have been multiple meetings at the WRC. In March 2020, three years ago this month, the Labour Court made a recommendation that the Government, of which Deputy Donohoe was then Minister for Finance, would make them an offer. In July 2022, the Government made a promise to them that an offer would be on the table by the end of September but, in spite of all of this, they are still waiting. Only a fortnight ago, the TUI and SIPTU had a meeting here and they informed us that the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science wants to make them an offer. The real question is what is the hold-up at this point. I know they say a week is a long time in politics. If that is the case, these workers have really been waiting a lifetime.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am very much aware of the importance of the work that adult education tutors perform across our society. There are 3,300 of them working to support the adult education sector and they work across 16 different education and training boards. However, the terms and conditions of adult education tutors are a matter, in the first instance, for both the Department of Education and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. My officials are working closely with colleagues in both Departments in regard to the finalisation of a Labour Court recommendation regarding the alignment of this group to any existing salary scale in the education sector.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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The reason I asked initially about the processes and procedures by which a line Department seeks permission for the release of funding is because there could sometimes be seen to be a pattern in this regard. The unions representing workers in a sector go to the line Department, and I understand that the Minister is saying this is where they need to go. However, the line Department might say that it supports them and that it can pay for this through existing funds, but that it cannot get the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to sign off on it. It is something I have heard a number of times and it seems to be the situation here again. The unions engage with the relevant Department and that line Department gives the green light, but it then says it needs the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to give it the green light and, as a result, the process reaches an impasse.

I understand that one of the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform’s primary functions is to manage expenditure in a prudent fashion but when we have the Labour Court recommendation, the support of the relevant line Department and a Government commitment to make an offer, the question is whose decision it is and who is in charge. It is clear that someone needs to take ownership of this issue. I ask the Minister to give a commitment that this will be done because the line Department is saying it is up to his Department.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department fundamentally has to be satisfied that any offer, any agreement that is made, is consistent with our overall approach to public pay. It is vital that we do this because we need to ensure that all public servants are treated equitably and fairly. My Department does have a role to play in ensuring this consistency is in place across all of our public servants. As I said to the Deputy, my Department and my officials are working with the relevant line Departments on this matter. We will continue to play a role to see if this can be resolved in a way that meets the different recommendations we have, but also, critically, is consistent with the overall wage agreement we have place.