Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

No, not what was foregone. However, from the date of the ending of the emergency and the certification of that, there will be full restoration. I was mindful of that when early this year I set about negotiating an orderly unwinding rather than a sudden unwinding, which would be catastrophic for the State. The cost of losing the measures that are implicit in the FEMPI suite of legislation is €2.2 billion per annum. If I was asked to pony up that amount of money to restore pay for pensioners and public servants right now, I would have to find it by cutting services. That is not a way I could possibly go. It was on the basis of having that dialogue in negotiation with the trade union movement, which fully accepted and understood this, that we have reached a situation where we have a negotiated agreement.

Not only must the financial emergency continue to exist for this legislation to be valid, I am legally advised that there are also other criteria. One is that it must have general application. In other words, it cannot be arbitrary. I cannot decide that I do not like a certain category of public servants, so they will be excluded from any pay restoration or will have particular cuts. That is what the Senator is doing. Legally, that would not last jig-time in the courts. Imagine saying to the judge that the Minister has taken it upon himself to be selective about individuals in respect of pay restoration or, in the first instance, pay cuts. It must have general application across a negotiated agreement. That is the reason we couched it in a formal negotiated agreement, agreed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

There are a number of other issues, some of which have nothing to do with the Bill, but I will do my best to respond. One of them is pension restoration. We intend to deal with pension restoration separately. We are dealing with pay restoration in this suite of measures. Under this Bill when it becomes operable, and we have tabled an earlier signature motion so it can have effect from 1 January next, there will be three restoration payments in terms of pensions alone - one on 1 January 2016, one on 1 January 2017 and one on 1 January 2018. It is a 24 month period. At the end of that period everybody who has a pension of up to €34,152 will have full restoration. That is 80% of all public sector pensioners. Everybody will have some restoration. To deal with the specific point made by Senator Healy Eames, if somebody is on €35,000 or €36,000 they will get their €34,152 as the impact is the same as on everybody else. It might be more helpful if I give the figures. Up to the level of €34,152 there is no further pension reduction.