I want to request the Tánaiste’s help in clearing up the confusion that has arisen among public sector workers regarding their allowances. The Tánaiste will be aware that on 19 September the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who had targeted savings of €75 million in abolishing 1,100 allowances, announced he could only find one allowance for existing workers that could be cancelled and the savings would only come to €3.5 million, a significant gap. Subsequent to this statement, both IMPACT and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conveyed to the Government and the Minister there were further possibilities and that the Minister had not gone far enough, should have dug deeper and there was room for consultation. The Minister indicated he would undertake such consultation. Suddenly, on 28 September, nine days later, the Minister found he cut 90 allowances instead of one. That is a 9,000% improvement in nine days. The public and private sectors could take some lessons from that.

What procedure will the Government adopt to reduce these allowances? Is the procedure going to be within the terms of the Croke Park agreement? What savings does the Minister now envisage achieving? According to reports, one allowance he is proposing to cut, if cut last year, would have saved the country the grand sum of €2,500. Another one would have saved less than €20,000. Is this a genuine attempt at reform? Or is it, in the words of a Fine Gael backbencher quoted in this morning’s Irish Independent, a window-dressing exercise to take the heat out of the situation?

I am happy to clear up any confusion in Deputy O’Dea’s mind.

The confusion is in the mind of public sector workers, not just mine.

The Tánaiste should do that for Deputy Shortall too.

The allowances we are referring to were agreed over the years. Many of them were agreed during the 14 years that Deputy O’Dea’s party was in government.

Here we go. Press "Play".

We are talking about now.

This was a time when the style of public service management pursued by Fianna Fáil was to throw taxpayers’ money at any problem that arose.

Even the children in the Visitors Gallery are not listening to the Tánaiste.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, conducted an extensive review of allowances across the public sector. In many cases, these allowances were historically granted in lieu of pay increases and now form part of core pay. Cutting core pay is not compatible with the Croke Park agreement. What the agreement has demonstrated is there is more than one way to reduce the public sector pay bill. By the end of this year, the public sector pay bill will have been reduced by €3.1 billion. As of last March, there were 28,000 fewer public servants than at the peak in 2008, yet front-line services continue to be delivered for more people as there are more schoolchildren, more hospital patients and more clients of social services.

The Minister has asked the individual Departments to pursue the elimination of allowances with their respective staffs. Up to 180 allowances will be discontinued for the future. Departments have been asked to examine existing allowances. The procedures to be followed will be the industrial relations ones that come within the terms of the Croke Park agreement. As I said, €3.1 billion in savings has already been achieved using the Croke Park agreement.

Sorry, but the Tánaiste did not answer my principle question which was about savings. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform set out saying he was going to save €75 million but then found on 19 September he could only save €3.5 million. Obviously, he now has found extra allowances. How much in savings does the Minister expect to make as a result of these newly identified allowances? It must be remembered they were identified in nine days. Will the €3,500 per annum education training allowance payable to hospital consultants be continued? It would be perverse if it were, in view of the fact that the €16.90 per week paid to lowly paid paramedics is already in the Minister’s sights even though it has been ruled to be part of core pay.

Savings of €3.1 billion have already been made.

Answer the question.

Some €3.1 billion has already been saved on the public service pay bill.

That is thanks to the Croke Park agreement.

For the first time a Government is addressing the issue of allowances in the public service. Fianna Fáil had 14 years. During that 14 years, when many of those allowances could have been addressed, rationalised-----

The Tánaiste said we did not spend enough.

What does this have to do with the question asked? What an eejit. What is the Tánaiste going to do? How much will he save?

-----and consolidated into pay, Fianna Fáil only added to the problem.

Quit the waffle. Answer the question.

Quiet, please.

I am answering the question.

Did you hear me?

Throughout that 14 years-----

I am asking about the next 14 days.

-----Fianna Fáil's style and its then leader's style of dealing with the issue of pay in the public service was that every time there was a problem-----

The Tánaiste spent 14 years saying we did not spend enough.

-----Fianna Fáil invited them in, gave them a wink, talked about public service reform and wrote the cheque.

Is the Government taking the allowances off consultants?

That is why we have ended up with a large number of allowances which now have to be disaggregated.

Jack O'Connor would not agree with that comment.

Stay quiet, Deputy Dooley. Thank you.

Some of these allowances there is no case for, some of these allowances are perfectly in order and some of these allowances have effectively become part of core pay and must be disaggregated.

The Labour Party is attacking workers.

For the first time, the Government is addressing the issue of allowances. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, has already made it clear that 180 of these allowances are to be discontinued for the future. He has asked Departments to examine existing allowances and to pursue these under the terms of the Croke Park agreement. This is part of an overall strategy of reducing the public service pay bill, which has already been reduced by €3.1 billion.

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, please, without interruption.

What about the thousands spent on consultants?

Deputy, did you hear me? I called Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.

The Labour Party is abandoning the workers.

Without interruption.