I wish the Taoiseach and all his colleagues a happy new year.

For many months last year I argued in this House that the Taoiseach needed to get a handle on the issue of public sector pay and, more important, to set out his plan on public sector pay restoration to the House. I argued for earlier talks on a successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement, for the establishment of meaningful social dialogue that would involve public servants in discussing not only pay but the services they provide and for the establishment of an employer labour conference which could help prevent some industrial disputes escalating.

For his own reasons, the Taoiseach chose to ignore those calls, which is his prerogative. However, it means that the Taoiseach must take responsibility for the 14,000 workdays lost during the last quarter of last year, which compares to not a single workday lost in the same period in the previous year. We know what we are talking about. We put forward practical solutions, but the Government chose not to listen.

This morning Members had yet again to turn to the media for an indication on the direction of public sector pay policy. We learn that, on top of the €50 million to be allocated to improve the pay of An Garda Síochána, a further sum will be spent this year to bring forward pay restoration to other public servants. The media estimate the cost associated with today's announcement to be of the order of €175 million. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, states that it will be €128 million.

I do not argue against the acceleration of pay restoration. I have advocated for it through direct talks for the past six months. However, I would like to know where the money is coming from. A trite line that it will come from unspecified efficiencies or savings is not good enough for the House.

When the Labour Court recommendation relating to An Garda Síochána came through late last year, the Government fudged how it would be paid for. We were told that half of it would come from elsewhere within the Justice Vote, even though we know that there is no secret sum. I do not think the Tánaiste has a hidden sum somewhere for it. We are told the other half will come from savings in other Departments.

It might have been possible for €50 million to come from underspend in profiled expenditure, but we are now speaking about a sum in excess of €200 million. I do not believe that can be found from savings to be made in the Estimates that we just recently agreed. Will the Taoiseach tell the House where the €200 million plus announced today will come from?

This is a sensitive and important issue because the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has been involved in discussions with the trade unions for some time. Deputy Howlin is well aware of the recommendation made by the Labour Court regarding the Garda associations on 3 November 2016. Its consequence was that the Government approved a two-phase approach in regard to securing the future of collective pay agreements. In this case it is the Lansdowne Road agreement, in which the Deputy when he was Minister played an important part, and which is such an important element of collective pay situations in the country.

The first phase was to address the anomalies arising from the recommendations of the Labour Court. The second was to negotiate a successive phase to the Lansdowne Road agreement. The rationale was to restore the structure to the process and to support industrial peace while allowing more difficult issues, such as pension benefits, to be on the table as part of the later negotiations in respect of the Lansdowne Road agreement.

The Government was in a position to save more than this cost. What the Minister negotiated - I am very glad to hear today that it has the support of ICTU - is that agreement has been reached on the measures required to support the continuation of the Lansdowne Road agreement until a successor agreement can be negotiated under phase two. The substance of the deal is an increase in annualised salaries of €1,000 for the period from 1 April to 31 August this year and the Lansdowne Road agreement will kick in subsequent to that. The deal refers specifically to those on annualised salaries up to €65,000 who are parties to the Lansdowne Road agreement and do not stand to benefit from the Labour Court recommendations made on 3 November last, which were issued in respect of the Garda associations. Approximately 250,000 public servants earning below €65,000 will benefit from this approach.

The Revised Estimates for 2017 proposed total gross Vote expenditure of €58.072 billion in line with commitments made in budget 2017 last October. Of this, €53.53 billion of current funding is for the day-to-day delivery of public services, while €4.541 billion is for capital investment. About 31% of current spending or €16.474 billion is allocated for public service pay.

There was a serious matter of perceived presentation of this today, as this being a lump sum payment for all of these public servants earning under €65,000. It is not a lump sum payment but the equivalent of an increase in annualised salaries of €1,000. It applies from 1 April to 31 August this year and the Lansdowne Road agreement kicks in from that point.

This is clarification in respect of what was announced this morning. It is not actually an increase of €1,000 but an increase of €1,000 annualised from April to August because the measure was provided for in the Estimates as commencing in September. The Taoiseach did not indicate from where the money was coming or whether the cost would be €128 million or €175 million.

This was clearly an attempt to placate public sector workers who are genuinely annoyed that one individual union was able to do a bespoke deal. Will there be further bespoke deals if other groups, for example, nurses, make a similar demand on government? Is the solution not the one I set out many months ago, namely, to open proper negotiations with all public sector workers to ensure everybody is treated exactly the same?

The cost is €120 million, as I recall from the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The second phase of Government strategy is to put in place the negotiations and conditions that will allow for a successor to the Lansdowne Road agreement.

When will that happen?

That will start later in the year. This is not a lump sum payment. It is the annualised equivalent of €1,000 which will apply from 1 April to the end of August, after which the Lansdowne Road agreement will kick in.

It is less than one quarter of what gardaí got.