Opposition rally against government over public servant cut failure

Opposition parties are rallying against the government over its failure to implement cuts to allowances paid to public servants.

Yesterday it emerged that just one out of over 800 allowances paid to existing public servants will be cut.

The Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin said he will not reach his target of €75m in savings this year - instead just €3.5m in cuts will be implemented.

Fianna Fáil described it as "a stunning example of the government's litany of broken promises".

Sinn Féin is calling for a full list of public service allowances to be made public and debated.

However, the party's Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald insists that big savings will not be made simply by snipping public service allowances: "He needs to target those at the upper echelons of the public sector and needs to reduce their wages. It is as simple as that.

"I want to stress you are talking about a limited number of people in the service but nonetheless it's people like government secretaries and advisers, who in this time are earning salaries which cannot be defended."