Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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51. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether public sector pay increases of 1% to 2% will be wiped out and public servants will essentially be taking a pay cut in 2022 with inflation running at 5.3%; the actions he plans to take in relation to this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2457/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Public service pay has been governed by a system of collective agreements since the Croke Park Agreement was negotiated in 2010. These collective agreements have helped to ensure that public pay is managed in a sustainable, affordable and orderly manner. These agreements have also enabled significant reform of public services and changes to work practices.

The current public service agreement is Building Momentum - A New Public Service Agreement 2021-2022. It is important to note that this Agreement is weighted towards those at lower incomes with headline increases of approximately 5% for the lowest paid public servants. These groups will also benefit more from other measures in the Agreement including the overtime rates and premia payment adjustments.

The Agreement provides for the following pay adjustments:

- A general round increase in annualised basic salary for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater, on October 2021. 

- The equivalent of a 1% increase in annualised basic salaries to be used as a Sectoral Bargaining Fund, in accordance with Chapter 2 of the Agreement, on 1 February 2022. 

- A general round increase in annualised basic salaries for all public servants of 1% or €500, whichever is greater on, 1 October 2022.

The Government is determined to ensure the current pay agreement is honoured in full. In this regard, an independent body was established to examine the additional hours worked by public servants under the Haddington Road Agreement. The recommendations of the Body have now been submitted to my Department and I anticipate that the full report will be submitted by the end of January.  

As the Deputy will be aware, Building Momentum is a two year Agreement, which is due to expire at the end of 2022. Accordingly, Government and public service staff representatives will be due to enter into discussions on the potential for a successor agreement later this year. I expect that the issues to which the Deputy has referred will feature in those discussions.