Government attacked over U-turn on cuts to senior civil servants’ pay

THE Government has been harshly criticised for reducing the effect of the public service pay cut on a small group of senior civil servants earning six-figure salaries.

When Finance Minister Brian Lenihan announced the cut in last month’s budget, he said civil servants earning over €125,000 would see their salaries reduced by between 8% and 15%.

However, in a circular posted on its website just before Christmas, the Department of Finance indicated a change to the budget proposals for about 160 civil servants.