Howlin says pay not most important factor for jobseekers

The public service cannot ever expect to attract the skilled and high-calibre personnel it requires on the basis of offering more generous pay benefits than are available elsewhere, Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has said.

He said particular challenges would continue to arise "where private sector employers in Ireland and indeed internationally offer higher pay for scarce or valuable skills possessed by certain cadres of the public service labour force".

Mr Howlin said the public service must be effective in recruiting and retaining those with the skills, experience and expertise essential to successfully discharge the myriad of diverse roles required for effective and cost-efficient public services.

He said this required a structure of remuneration for public servants that was “broadly comparable and competitive with other sectors of the economy”. However he said other factors such as job security, pension benefits and the exchequer’s ability to pay had to be taken into account. “The public service cannot ever expect to attract the skilled and high-calibre personnel it requires on the basis of more generous pay benefits than are available elsewhere.”

He said a recent survey on salary and recruiting trends found that only 30 per cent of jobseekers placed remuneration as the most important consideration. “Other considerations such as career development, work-life balance and job security also scored highly and these are all significant features of public service employment.”

Addressing the Public Affairs Ireland annual human resources summit yesterday, Mr Howlin said the current public service pay framework, based on the Haddington Road agreement and various pieces of financial emergency legislation, had probably, more than any single measure taken by Government, “provided certainty and confidence regarding the control of public expenditure and helped restore the State’s ability to fund on international markets”.

“A replacement for the two pillar model currently in place must, however, be capable of demonstrating the capacity to sustain what has been successfully delivered by the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act and the Haddington Road agreement.”

He said this meant particular adherence to fiscal targets to maintain the confidence secured in the credibility of our budgetary approach and “continued delivery of key reform initiatives to further improve the delivery of public services”.