Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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106. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of restoration of civil servant pay under FEMPI; when he expects further pay restoration to take place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40356/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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On Monday the 18th of September the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions endorsed the terms of the recently negotiated extension to the Lansdowne Road Agreement on pay and reform in the public service.

This Public Service Stability Agreement will run from 2018 to 2020 by which point pay will be fully restored to all public servants earning up to €70,000 which is equal to almost 90 per cent of public servants. Benefits to different income groups are progressive and weighted towards the lower paid with pay increases ranging from 7.4 per cent to 6.2 per cent over three years.

This Agreement achieves the right balance between addressing the legitimate expectations of public service workers for increases in their pay and ensuring that the Government continues to exercise a prudent approach to the overall management of our public finances while securing industrial peace to support the ongoing delivery of our public services.

The improvements in pay provided for in this Agreement mark another important step in the gradual normalisation of our collective bargaining approach to pay arrangements in the public service through the process of unwinding the FEMPI legal framework on pay that has been in place for the last number of years.

A copy of the Agreement can be found on the Department's website:

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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107. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department will make retrospective the compensation to all public servants recruited since 2011 on lesser pay than their longer serving comparators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40488/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The issue of addressing the difference in incremental salary scales between those public servants, who entered public service employment since 2011 and those who entered before that date was addressed with the relevant union interests under the provisions of the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA). From 1 November 2013 pre and post-2011 pay scales were merged into a single consolidated scale applicable to each grade. Generally, the third point of 1 November 2013 payscale is equivalent to the first point of the pre 2011 scale.  Guidelines in relation to the merging of the scales are available on my Departments website.

It should be noted that under the new Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 which has recently been ratified by the Public Services Committee of the ICTU, pay increases range from 7.4 per cent to 6.2 per cent over three years, are progressive and will therefore favour new entrants.

The Agreement also recognises the issue of concern in relation to the salaries of new entrants and I understand arrangements between the parties to the Agreement will be made at an early date to engage on this matter.