Pay of top civil servants to be restored to 2008 levels

Cabinet signed off on measures to reverse a pay cut for civil servants earning between €70k and €150k, which has been in place since 2008

Taoiseach Micheál Martin arriving for the Cabinet meeting at Dublin Castle today. Picture: Gareth Chaney

Civil servants earning between €70,000 and €150,000 will have their full pay restored from July 1, after Cabinet members signed off on the measures.

These civil servants have been on reduced pay since 2008 when, under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act (Fempi), their salaries were cut.

As provided for by the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, the pay has now been restored to 2008 levels.

A separate Government order provides for similar pay restoration for members of the judiciary earning up to €150,000. Where individuals are due pay restoration under these provisions, they will not benefit from the general 1% pay round increase in October 2021.

Also at the Cabinet meeting, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly got approval for the text of the CervicalCheck Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 2021.

The bill proposes to extend the period for people to make claims beyond the current deadline of July 26, 2021.

The new deadline would be January 26, 2022, or a later date set by order of the minister, up to July 26, 2022.

The reasons for extending the deadline are to compensate for the pause in setting up the tribunal, giving time for interested parties to see how effectively the tribunal deals with claims it has received to date, and to allow for consideration of the proposal to increase eligibility for the tribunal.

It has only received five claims to date after a breakdown in the relationship between 221+ advocates for the women affected  and the Government.

The Government says it will now work to “facilitate restoration of trust meetings”.

“The intention behind a restoration of trust meeting is to document experiences, facilitate discussion, and provide information to a woman affected by CervicalCheck, or to her family, if a woman has passed away.

“The meeting process is open to all women eligible for the tribunal, irrespective of whether or not they make a claim to the tribunal and irrespective of the status of the claim.”

A facilitator of the meetings has been identified to appoint a panel of moderators who have the skills to chair the “meetings in a supportive and constructive manner”.

Separately, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien also got approval for amendments to the Residential Tenancies Bill which will provide for additional protections for tenants.

Mr O’Brien is continuing to engage with officials and the attorney general and will publish details of this tomorrow.