John Perry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Finance the changes which are under consideration regarding the terms of reference, the membership and the matching programme delivery targets underpinning the next round of benchmarking. [38957/05]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 216: To ask the Minister for Finance the changes which are under consideration regarding the terms of reference, the membership and the matching programme delivery targets underpinning the next round of benchmarking. [39235/05]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 216 together.

The second public service pay agreement under Sustaining Progress provides that the public service benchmarking body will commence the next benchmarking review in the second half of 2005 to report in the second half of 2007. The Department of Finance and other public service employers have been in discussion with the public services committee of ICTU on the membership of the body and on the terms of reference since earlier this year. As provided for under Sustaining Progress, the parties consider that the body should seek to ensure the optimum level of transparency consistent with the efficient and effective operation of the process itself. Progress has been made and it is expected that the body will be established shortly. The terms of reference and the list of grades to be examined will, I expect, be broadly similar to the last exercise.

Since the body will not report until the second half of 2007, the question of the conditions attaching to any payment of any increases would only arise at the implementation stage. It does not arise at this stage since the purpose of the exercise is first to establish the appropriate rates of pay between comparable jobs in the public service and the private sector taking account of the differences, if any, between the sectors. However, I will seek to ensure that all pay increases will be tied to an ongoing programme of public service modernisation, the maintenance of stable industrial relations and absence of industrial action.