Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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267. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on the different set of circumstances that the Labour Court recommendation on Garda pay has created for expenditure but also for limiting the pay improvements in 2017 to €290 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38364/16]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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268. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he or his Department are considering bringing forward the €1,000 State employee payment as reported in a newspaper (details supplied) on 28 November 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38365/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 267 and 268 together.

The Government has accepted the recommendations from the Labour Court as the basis for resolving the dispute over Garda pay. The cost of the proposed settlement, should it be accepted by the relevant Associations, will be met through agreed budgetary parameters.  

The wider implications of the recommendation in relation to the continued operation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement as it applies to all public servants across the public service has received careful consideration and assessment by the Government. On foot of those considerations, the Public Services Committee of ICTU has accepted my invitation to discussions under Section 6 (oversight and governance arrangements) of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. These discussions, which are expected to conclude before the end of January next, will seek to address the anomalies arising for other parties to the Lansdowne Road Agreement from the recent recommendations issued by the Labour Court in relation to the Industrial Relations disputes with members of An Garda Síochána.

The priorities for Government in upcoming discussions will be to:

- secure the continued implementation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement;

- maintain the productivity, industrial peace and stability provided by the Agreement, which are of critical importance to the country and its international reputation; and

- to ensure that issues of mutual concern to the parties are addressed in a fair and reasonable way but, above all, in a manner that safeguards existing government expenditure commitments and the broader fiscal position.

I am not going to speculate on any outcome to such discussions.