Howlin: Croke Park Agreement has 'a lot more to do'

Minister for Public Sector Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin is today warning that a lot more will need to be done to reach the Croke Park Agreement targets.

A new report shows that €650m in pay-bill savings were achieved under the deal over the last year.

A review of the agreement on public sector pay and conditions also stated that the number of staff in the sector fell by 11,530 in the year to the end of March last.

Brendan Howlin said that the numbers working in the public service are being downsized, while still maintaining industrial peace.

"It is clear that the Croke Park Agreement continues to deliver and that's very important because it's a fundamental part of the economic strategy of the Government," he said.

"We've a lot more to go, a lot more to do, the country is still in a very difficult place, and we need to be even more ambitious in what we need to achieve into the future."

Trade union IMPACT welcomed the savings made, saying that it is proof of the hard work civil servants have put in.

"It shows the trade unions and the public service management, working together, have managed to reduce the cost of running the public service, at a time when more and more people need the services and there's less staff to deliver it," said IMPACT general secretary Shay Cody.