Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2013 gives effect to the Government's proposals to reduce the remuneration of certain public servants on higher rates of pay in excess of €65,000, provide for a reduction in the amount of pension or other benefits, other than lump sums, payable to or in respect of certain persons who are or were in the public service under an occupational pension scheme or pension arrangement, and provide for a suspension of incremental progression for three years for all public servants. The freezing of increments will apply unless the employees in question are covered by a collective agreement that modifies the terms of the incremental suspension and that has been registered with the Labour Relations Commission.

This is the fifth financial emergency measures legislative proposal that has come before the Oireachtas for consideration. Three were introduced by the previous Government in 2009 and 2010. Those Acts were introduced unilaterally and made provision for reductions in the annual remuneration of public servants through a pension-related reduction of €1.35 billion and a reduction in remuneration of €1 billion.

This was followed by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010, which introduced the public service pension reduction, PSPR. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Amendment) Act 2011 was introduced by this Government in line with the outcome of the referendum on the 29th amendment to the Constitution to apply proportionate reductions to judicial remuneration following a vote of the people. The Act also provided the necessary legislative amendments to support the reductions applied by this Government to ministerial officeholders and on an administrative basis when taking office in March 2011. Senators will recall that one of the first actions of the Government was to cut the pay of the new Government and we applied further reductions to the pensions of the previous Government in the 2011 Act.

Notwithstanding the pressing economic and fiscal challenges faced in the recent past and which we continue to face as a country today, I do not consider that any of these financial emergency measures have been brought to the Oireachtas, irrespective of the Government concerned, by choice or with anything approaching enthusiasm. The reality is that no government or politician could expect a welcome for these measures. We must rely on the hope, certainly not the expectation, that these measures will be seen, in hindsight if not now, for what they are. They are not measures of choice. In effect when all options are unpleasant the choices become about trying to limit the pain imposed on those affected. These measures before us are painful certainly but they will make a vital and proportionate contribution to the repositioning of our public finances to a sustainable model and will assist us in regaining our economic independence as we reclaim control of our economic futures.

I and my colleagues in government are acutely aware that, irrespective of the requirement to meet the general government deficit target of below 3% by 2015 and the necessity of a proportionate contribution of €300 million in 2013 and €1 billion by 2015 in savings, to be made from the public service pay bill, the measures proposed in this Bill impact adversely on public servants and I am not trying to hide that fact. As I have noted previously, public servants have contributed significantly through the pension levy imposed in 2009, the pay reduction imposed in 2010 and through other measures, including head count reduction, reduced salary rates for new entrants and reductions in pension payments to pensioners under the PSPR.

Public servants live in the same economy as all workers do; they share the same costs, taxes and interest rates that all workers do; and, undoubtedly, they share in the many difficulties that the current crisis has caused for individuals and families in the wider economy, such as significant debt, high mortgages, negative equity and loss of employment for family members. There has been an unedifying rush to criticise and point out the weaknesses and ills of the public service for political and other agendas. Among the shrill voices there is a tendency to tackle the man or woman rather than the ball and grossly unfair generalisations are made about public servants as a group. This ignores the human face of the public service. People working in the service deliver vital public services that are of benefit to society on a daily basis at all hours of the day and night in an efficient professional way without fear, favour or judgment.

The public service is not perfect and this is why my Department has a particular title and mandate which focuses on reform and transformation. However, this should in no way denigrate the job done by and the many excellent characteristics of our public service and public servants which are well recognised by our international partners. We need look no further for an illustration of the capacity and ability to deliver by our public servants, even in times of severe resource reductions, than the current Irish Presidency of the European Union which draws to a close next month. An excellent Presidency has been delivered and this is widely recognised by our EU colleagues. I intend to reflect upon this performance and I hope to bring forward proposals that will go some way to acknowledge it in the coming months.