Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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83. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will examine providing pay incentives to public sector workers where there are acute recruitment and retention issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28899/25]

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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What incentives will the Minister provide for public sector workers because of the acute shortages we are seeing? Some 382 roles in the national children's hospital are unfilled. There are 700 vacancies for psychiatric nurses. There are 529 unfilled posts throughout the children's disability network teams, CDNTs. Some 500 new social workers are required per year. Some 75% of secondary schools are unable to fill teaching posts. There are 9,000 unqualified individuals in our schools. Need I go on? This is having a massive impact throughout society. Unless the Government admits there is a real problem and institutes a city allowance or other allowances to attract workers, we are in for a continuation of the impact of this crisis.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy. As she is aware, a broad range of factors influence staff recruitment and retention. As a result of Ireland's significant economic growth, unemployment is low and labour market conditions remain tight. Labour and skills shortages are presenting recruitment and retention challenges for employers across the labour market, including the civil and public service, as the Deputy mentioned. Despite this, staff numbers in the public sector have continued to grow significantly. Between 2015 and quarter 1 of 2025, which is the most recent data available to my Department, overall estimated public service numbers in full-time equivalent terms increased by over 36% from 302,000 to over 411,000.

The public service is a good employer and continues to offer competitive pay and other terms and conditions to attract and retain staff, including flexible working arrangements, opportunities for continuous professional development, pension provision and secure employment. In the case of recruitment policy in the Civil Service, for which I have policy responsibility, my Department works closely with the Public Appointments Service and other Departments to achieve the objectives set out by the 2024 plan for Civil Service renewal and to ensure that the State remains an employer of choice.

The Deputy referenced remuneration. As she is aware, pay in the public service has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the negotiation of the Croke Park agreement in 2010. These agreements have enabled the Government to increase pay for our public servants in a fair, sustainable and affordable way. The current agreement runs for two and a half years from 2024 to mid-2026 and the total cost amounts to €3.6 billion. The agreement provides for increases of 10.25% over a two-and-a-half-year period. This is made up of general round increases totalling 9.25%, as well as a provision for a local bargaining mechanism equivalent to 1% of the basic pay cost.

Under the current agreement to date, public servants have benefited from pay increases totalling 6.25%. There is one further general round of 1% for all public servants due on 1 August. This will be followed by two further general round increases in 2026, with an increase of 1% in February 2026 and an increase of 1% in June 2026.

The agreement also contains a local bargaining provision, which allows management-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I will follow up in the next round.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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In our mutual constituency, the resounding message at the doors is that young Castleknock is in Australia. That was said to me. I was told I would not meet anyone over the age of 23 in the area.

The Mayor of London estimates that a worker needs £9,600 extra to live in inner London. There is a London weighting allowance, for example, for the NHS, whereby a worker in inner London is paid 20%, or up to £8,172, more. An allowance of 15% is available to those in outer London to attract NHS staff.

The teacher shortage is acute in Dublin and all cities and urban areas, as it is everywhere in the country. How can we expect teachers to live in Dublin when the average rent is €2,377? How can we expect people to do that? They are going to emigrate and we will see a continuation of the situation. The impact on disadvantaged schools and students with special needs will be severe.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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As I was going to say before I had to conclude, there is a local bargaining provision that allows management and unions to negotiate changes to pay and terms and conditions up to a maximum of 3% of pay costs for the relevant grade. The first instalment under this provision, equivalent to 1% of pay costs, is due to be implemented from 1 September 2025 and negotiations are commencing at local level across the public service.

This agreement, like its predecessor, is weighted towards lower paid public servants. Over the lifetime of the agreement, the lowest paid public servants will see cumulative benefits of up to 17.3%, inclusive of the local bargaining provision, compared with the standard benefits of 10.25%.

The Deputy asked about housing. This is why the State's overall investment in housing as part of the national development plan is critical. Last year during the budgetary process, we advanced the expansion of the renter's tax credit to respond to the relative price of rent in the economy. That will be a continued focus for the Government in the national development plan and through the budgetary process.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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In other words, the Government is not going to do anything. That is the reality. It is going to stick by these collective agreements that do not serve all groups of workers. I will give the examples of the Tories, who I would not be singing the praises of at any time. Due to the teaching crisis in the UK, a scheme was introduced to make bursaries available. To teach chemistry, for example, a prospective teacher will get a scholarship of £31,000 and a bursary of £29,000, which is much higher than the average industrial wage. Postgraduate bursaries are being introduced. Irish people are going over to the UK to do their teacher training because they will be paid the average industrial wage. They will then stay in the system in the UK for a period. Australia has hard-to-fill vacancies and introduced scholarships in the amount of 5,000 Australian dollars. A non-UK student who is coming to the country to teach languages, physics, science or whatever else will get a bursary. Our Government is doing nothing. We need a city allowance for public sector workers. We need special education allowances. We need to consider how we will lift the hardship from public sector workers. Otherwise, they will continue to fly to Australia and other places all around the globe and our crisis will continue.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Many public servants working here are involved in the bargaining process, which the trade unions were centrally involved in for the current public pay agreement. That collective pay agreement has brought industrial peace to our country relative to many other countries in Europe and elsewhere. It is important for that collaboration to continue.

The emphasis of the current public sector agreement is on lower paid workers, including teachers, nurses and others as they exit college. There are significant other supports that we are trying to ramp up in the context of the budget we set out last year, including the renter's tax credit.

The local bargaining mechanism is also an opportunity for trade unions to involve themselves in that process and the additionality that is available through it. The outworking of this pay agreement is providing significant increases to core pay when we consider the overall increases over a two-and-a-half year period. We want to continue that collective approach when it comes to pay and industrial policy.