Tuesday, 9 May 2017
The Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe T.D., today (Tuesday) welcomed the publication of the Report of the Public Service Pay Commission.

For its initial report the Commission was asked to provide input on how the unwinding of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest legislation should proceed, having regard to:

• The evolution of pay trends in the public and private sectors, based on published data;
• A comparison of pay rates for identifiable groups within the public service with prevailing non-public sector market rates;
• International rates and comparisons where possible; and
• The state of the national finances.

The Commission was also asked to give consideration to other conditions of service of public servants, including tenure and pension, as well as recruitment and retention trends in the public service.

Commenting on the release of the Report, the Minister said: ‘I welcome the Report from the Public Service Pay Commission, which has been considered by Government today. The independent evidence-based analysis set out by the Commission in its Report will be a key input to the negotiations on an extension to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, which will get underway in the coming weeks. This was a complex and challenging piece of work. I would like in particular to thank the Chair and the members of the Commission for the commitment and expertise that they brought to the process over the last number of months.’

“It is important that we now take a short time to reflect on the Report. From Government’s perspective, the Commission’s acknowledgement of the risks to the fiscal and economic environment in considering how best to unwind FEMPI legislation is welcome. So too is the focus on the State’s ability to pay when considering future pay awards. We had also asked that the Commission take account of public service pensions in its consideration of remuneration in the public service, and I welcome their detailed examination of this issue.”

Reflecting the Government’s commitment to openness and transparency, the Commission will be making all of its submissions and inputs publicly available on its website, www.paycommission.gov.ie