€2.2bn: Cost of scrapping lower pay rates for new public servants

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has said it would cost €2.2bn a year to eliminate lower pay rates for new public servants.

Speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Mr Donohoe was responding to questions from members of the People Before Profit/Anti Austerity Alliance group, who called on him to end the “pay apartheid” in the public sector.

Mr Donohoe said that while he recognised the contribution made by lower-paid workers, but he was not in a position to eliminate the two-tier pay system as demanded.