Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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431. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will deal with the following matter regarding the Haddington Road agreement (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13515/14]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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As I noted in my original response to Mr. Timmons of 11 December, 2013, the Haddington Road Agreement will make a significant contribution of €1 billion to delivering on our fiscal targets.

While some of these monetary savings will be delivered through direct pay reductions, those reductions only apply to higher paid public servants those earning over €65,000 or 13% of workers, meaning that the core pay of 87% of public service workers has been protected.

In addition to direct pay reductions on higher paid workers, there are a significant number of measures set out in the Agreement which will fundamentally change the terms and conditions of employment for public servants.  In this context, I would highlight the provision of almost 15 million additional working hours annually across the Public Service, which will involve staff in all sectors having their working week extended.

As I noted in my response of 11 December, significant progress has been made in restructuring the Public Service in recent years.  The Agreement provides for a number of workplace changes aimed at developing a leaner and more efficient Public Service, through reductions in management numbers by increasing spans of control and grade rationalisation and more effective redeployment of staff both on a cross-sectoral and geographical basis.

The Agreement also contains a number of sectoral measures which involve changes to non-core payments such as changes in overtime rates and premium payments, as well as other workplace changes.

It is also worth noting that other changes to the conditions of employment of public servants are already being implemented outside of the Agreement, such as changes to sick leave and annual leave arrangements in the Public Service.

As well as reducing the pay and pensions bill, the Agreement will also be an enabler for the next phase of the Government's Public Service Reform programme, as set out in the Public Service Reform Plan 2014 2016, resulting in improved service delivery right across the Public Service.