Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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27. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the engagement he has had with other Ministers with regard to pay restoration and pay negotiations for workers in agencies and bodies under their respective remit; the Ministers he has discussed with this; if this engagement has taken place in Cabinet, Cabinet committee or an interdepartmental basis; the dates these meetings took place; and if relevant trade unions have been informed of the status of these discussions. [18348/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I have of course kept my Government and Cabinet colleagues informed of any significant developments with respect to the management of public service pay expenditure. In response to the Labour Court Recommendation on Garda pay, the Government, collectively, agreed a two phase approach to securing the future of collective pay agreements:

- Phase 1 to address anomalies arising from the recent Labour Court recommendations on An Garda Síochána; and

- Phase 2 to negotiate a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

Phase 1 was completed with the agreement of a €1,000 increase in respect of the period Aprilto August 2017 inclusive for:

- those on annualised salaries up to €65,000;

- who are parties to the Lansdowne Road Agreement; and

- who do not stand to benefit from the Labour Court recommendations issued in respect of the Garda Associations.

Phase 2 will commence with the submission of the first report from the Public Service Pay Commission which is due for completion by the end of the current quarter. Officials from my Department are in regular ongoing contact with senior management of public service employers and staff representatives across all sectors of the public service in relation to industrial relations issues including those relating to pay and conditions for public servants.