Public service pay and pensions to rise €1.1bn next year

There will be an increase of €1.1bn in spending on public service pay and pensions next year, bringing the total budget to €16.4bn, under the provisions of Budget 2006.

In his Budget speech today, Minister for Finance Brian Cowen said this would make full provision for the final stages of the Sustaining Progress national pay agreement and also included €430m for improvements in services and extra staff to deliver those services.

“I do not intend to prejudge the outcome of negotiations on a further public service pay agreement, so I’m not making any special provisions in the estimates in 2006 other than what is provided for in the current agreement,” he said.

The Dáil heard that there were 290,000 public servants employed with some limited increases in staff in some key non-administrative areas, such as health, education and in the Gardaí.