John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Finance the action taken by him from the date of acceptance of the Croke Park Agreement to establish cost saving measures; if all aspects of the deal are now being complied with; the changes made in his Department relative to the agreement; if staff numbers have been affected; if staff have been transferred from his Department or recruited from other Departments; the savings achieved because of the agreement. [39005/10]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 200: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide the make up of the implementation body relative to the Croke Park Agreement; the list of nominating bodies and their nominees; if he has nominees on the body; if the private sector is represented on the body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39006/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 183 and 200 together.

The Implementation Body provided for under the Croke Park Agreement comprises the independent chair, Mr. P.J. Fitzpatrick, whose appointment was agreed by the parties, and nominees representing both public service management and the Public Service Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The nominees to the Implementation Body from the Public Service Management side are Ciaran Connolly and Brendan Duffy from the Public Service Management Division of the Department of Finance, and Philip Kelly of the Department of the Taoiseach. The nominees from the Public Service Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions are Mr. Seamus Cody, Ms. Sheila Nunan, Ms. Patricia King and Mr. Tom Geraghty. The Agreement is between Public Service Management as employer and the Public Service Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and does not provide for any external representation from the private sector on the Implementation Body.

The Implementation Body in its regular meetings has concentrated on establishing the sectoral implementation bodies provided for under the Agreement and on reviewing the sectoral Action Plans which have been submitted by each Government Department. These plans inform the Implementation Body on the significant changes proposed by public service management to achieve the reforms, efficiencies and savings needed in each sector. At its most recent meeting on 18 October, I understand that while noting that the proposals made may need to be revised in the light of, and to support, decisions taken by the Government in the overall budgetary process, the Implementation Body considered that the implementation plans submitted in respect of the Health Sector and the Local Government sector set out a clear and substantive list of identifiable actions for delivery. The Body requested additional information to be submitted in respect of the Education sector implementation plan. I understand the plans for the Health sector and the Local Government sector are being published on the websites of Department of Health and Children and Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government respectively.

The Government is determined that public service management will be proactive and ambitious in delivering on the full range of productivity and change measures envisaged in the Agreement, and accepted as necessary by all parties to it. Strong oversight by the Implementation Body will be an important factor in this.

The Agreement provides a sustainable framework to manage the provision and delivery of our essential public services in a period of unprecedented pressure on public resources. In this regard, the Exchequer Pay Bill is estimated to reduce by 8% in 2010 over 2009 while the number of public servants has reduced by almost 11,000 since March 09, resulting in significant savings in the public service paybill.