Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. The Government acknowledges that current inflationary pressures present challenges and are a source of concern for public service workers. In acknowledgement of inflationary pressures and the rising cost of living, a review of the existing public service agreement, Building Momentum, was conducted this summer. This led to parties agreeing to an extension of the terms of Building Momentum by 12 months to 31 December 2023. As such, along with the pay increases due under the original agreement, public servants will also receive a further increase in basic salaries of 3% backdated to 2 February 2022, an increase of 2% from 1 March 2023 and an increase of 1.5% or €750, whichever is higher, on 1 October 2023. These additional pay increases due under the extension to Building Momentum were cost-of-living measures to help public servants over the next number of years. The Government is keen that all pay rises due are paid to public and civil servants as soon as possible.

Regarding the job evaluation scheme, there was no guarantee from the beginning that all grades evaluated would receive an uplift. The recommendations under phase 4 of the scheme were made without prejudice based on a specific set of criteria and scoring methodology. It is important to remind the Senator that no sanction has yet been received on the findings of phase 4 of the job evaluation scheme and therefore no recommendations have been implemented. As this is an ongoing process, it would be inappropriate to advise further at this point.