Cutting allowances will affect lowest paid

WRITING in the Irish Examiner yesterday, eight Fine Gael TDs said there was a question mark over the extent of the savings being delivered by the Croke Park Agreement.

If correct, this would be a serious blow to the credibility of the deal and, more importantly, to efforts to bring Ireland’s budget deficit under control.

But it is not correct. The implementation body charged with verifying Croke Park progress has emphatically rejected claims that savings have been overestimated, and stands over its report that €1.5bn in recurring savings have been achieved in the first two years of the agreement.