13/06/2012

€1.5bn Saved By Croke Park Body In Two Years

Savings of almost €1.5 billion have been secured in the two years since the formation of the Croke Park Implementation Body, according to the head of the group.

However, speaking about the latest annual review of the agreement for the year to March 2012, Chairman PJ Fitzpatrick warned that there would be no let up in the pursuit of reform and savings - particularly as demand for such services was rising, and the fiscal situation remained challenging.

He said the deal had delivered pay savings of €650 million this year, though the "sustainable" saving that will carry to future years would be around €521m once recruitment of up to 3,000 essential new recruits was factored in.

When that was added to the €289m in pay savings secured between April 2010 and March 2011, the total pay saving under the agreement came to around €810m.

Meanwhile further non-pay savings of €370m were secured, on top of €308m secured in the first year of the deal - bringing the total non-pay saving to €678m.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin said it is clear from today's report that the Croke Park Agreement is "a framework that is delivering".

He said it shows an even more robust implementation of targets during the second year, and "very significant savings" on payroll costs.

However General Secretary of the Irish Nurses and Midwives' Association, Liam Doran, said that Government and wider society needed to acknowledge that public servants have put their “shoulders to the wheel”, in providing public services to the best level possible with reduced resources.

(H)


Related Irish News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

17 January 2013
€420m To Be Saved By The Health Service By 2016
A further €420m in health service savings are hoped to be made over the next three years. The government announced the savings plan during the latest round of talks on an extension to the Croke Park agreement. At the meeting trade unions heard that the savings for 2013 would be €150m.
03 July 2013
€330m Saved In 9 Months By Croke Park
Some €330 million was saved between April and December last year under the Croke Park Agreement, the agreements implementation body has said. The Croke Park Implementation Body have produced their third and final report, which reveals that the 2010 deal saved a total of €1.8 billion.
17 April 2013
Government Regroup After Croke Park Extension Defeat
As the government regroup following yesterdays rejection of the Croke Park Extension proposals, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said they have to and will make €300 million of savings from the public sector payroll this year.
15 October 2012
Eight Fine Gael TDs Say Incremental Pay Increases Should Be Examined
Incremental pay increases and allowances for higher-paid public service workers should be examined for possible savings, according to eight Fine Gael TDs. In an article in the Irish Examiner, the group said these two areas are not part of the Croke Park Agreement and that pay increases must be put back on the table to correct the budget deficit.
06 June 2019
Aviva To Cut 1,800 Roles
Insurer Aviva has announced it intends to cut 1,800 job roles over the next three years as it works to reduce expenses. The role reductions are out of a workforce of around 30,000 and the company said it hopes to keep redundancies to a minimum.