Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 286: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if she will provide a list of public health sector employers who have been instructed to apply pay adjustments in accordance with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act, 2009. [8075/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009, provides for the application of a reduction in remuneration for all public servants. For the purposes of the Act, a public servant includes a person who is employed by, or who holds any office or other position in a public service body. The Health Service Executive and bodies funded under Section 38 of the Health Act 2004 are public service bodies, as defined in this Act. My Department circulated a revised version of the Health Sector Consolidated Salary Scales in December 2009 to reflect the required reduction in remuneration. These were sent to all public health sector employers, including the HSE and all Non-Commercial State Sponsored Bodies under the aegis of this Department.

My Department has also clarified to the HSE, at their request, that Bodies funded under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004 were not directly affected by the pay adjustments provided for under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009. Section 39 agencies are not public service employers, nor are their employees public sector employees. However, there have been corresponding cuts in the Exchequer funding for these bodies and their grants have been reduced by €21.5m overall. The HSE were advised that it was a matter for each individual employer of a Section 39 body to determine how to effect the reduction in the grant to their organisation, without impacting on service delivery.