Public sector pay deal queried

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland (CPA) has questioned the wisdom of paying the Benchmarking Awards to public sector workers.

In a pre-Budget survey, CPA members condemned the process as a “rampant wastage of funds”.

Nearly half of those surveyed (45%) called for a review of the payments while a further 20% said a cut in public spending was required in 2004 to keep borrowing under control.