Media Release

Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body

The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Mr Brian Cowen TD, has received the Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body from the Chairman of the Body, Mr Dan O'Keeffe, SC.

The Report covers all the major groups in the public service (apart from top posts which are covered by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector and craft workers and related grades such as general operatives who are covered by a separate parallel process which is before the Labour Court at present).

The Benchmarking Body found that, in general, public service salaries at these levels compare well with the private sector. No increase is recommended for the vast majority of grades examined.

The Benchmarking Body found that the pensions of the public service groups examined are significantly more valuable than those of private sector groups and that the superior value of public service pensions should be quantified at 12%.

Taking the pensions discount into account, increases are recommended for just 15 of the 109 grades examined - the increases are recommended for some of the more senior grades examined. The cost of the increase is estimated at €50 million (an increase of 0.3% of the paybill of those covered by the report).

“I will be reporting to the Government on the Report next week. The Social Partnership Agreement, Towards 2016, provides that implementation of the Report will be discussed by the parties in the context of discussions on whatever arrangements on pay and conditions are to be put in place on the expiry of the current public service pay agreement”, the Tánaiste stated.

“I would like to thank the Chairman Dan O’Keeffe, SC, and all of the members of the Body and the secretariat for the extensive work they have done in carrying out this examination and the commitment to finalising the report within the timeframe set”, he added.

Click here for Report of the Public Service Benchmarking Body and

Click here for the Executive Summary.

10 January 2008

Ends

Note for editors

The Members of the Public Service Benchmarking Body are:

Mr Dan O'Keeffe S.C., BCL, LL.B., A.C.A. – Chairman

Mr Bill Attley, former General Secretary of SIPTU,

Ms Olive Braiden, Chair of the Arts Council; former Chair of Justice sector Performance Verification Group,

Mr John Malone, former Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture & Food,

Mr Tom McKevitt, former Deputy General Secretary of the Public Service Executive Union,

Mr Willie Slattery, Managing Director, State Street International (Ireland) Ltd., and

Professor Brendan Walsh, Emeritus Professor of Economics, UCD.