Croke Park deal aids economic recovery

IT IS something of a mystery to me that certain media outlets can repeatedly comment on the Croke Park agreement without mentioning that enormous savings have been achieved by this deal or noting the fact that all reports show that progress thus far is well ahead of expected targets.

As acknowledged in the 2010 agreement “public servants have made a very significant contribution towards the recovery of the economy with over €3bn saved from the public service pay bill”. In addition to this, the first annual report on the agreement (June 2011) found that a further €597m of savings had been achieved as well as the avoidance of costs of €85.7m which would have been incurred if the agreement was not in place.

This report also acknowledged that “solid and measurable progress” was being achieved across all areas of the agreement and that the savings achieved so far have exceeded government targets. The latest six-monthly report (November 2011) further outlines the progress made towards building “a leaner and more integrated public service”. It also indicates that progress is accelerating and that savings will again be ahead of target in 2012.