Bruton 'satisfied' with Croke Park savings

The Minister for Jobs and Enterprise says he is satisfied that the savings the government has claimed to have made under the Croke Park agreement are robust and accurate.

It comes after it was reported over the weekend that the figure had been exaggerated with claims that some departments were told to inflate their pay bill savings by 40%.

Eight Fine Gael TDs have written an article in the Irish Examiner today raising concerns about the issue.

But Minister Richard Bruton says the figures are accurate: "We heard from Brendan Howlin, the chairman of the implementation group and indeed Grant Thornton, the audtiors of this process, that the system has been robust and the savings are based accordingly on recorded and accurate savings."

"I'm satisfied that we have delivered savings."