Sinn Fein punish public servants in need of pay increases – English

Sinn Fein punish public servants in need of pay increases – English

Fine Gael TD Damien English today (Tuesday) said the alternative Budget put forward by Sinn Fein does not adequately provide for pay increases for Guards, nurses and teachers across the public service at a time when cost of living is biting so hard for so many.

“Sinn Fein released its alternative budget today, outlining provision of €815 million for an ‘unallocated contingency fund’.

“This, it says, will provide for a new public sector pay deal and ‘a number of other important services’. The total cost of Building Momentum this year alone is almost €1 billion.

“So all in, a pretty large shortfall exists between the real world and Sinn Féin fantasy economics,” Deputy English said.

“Guards, teachers, nurses and all public servants work so hard for the State and deserve to have that work recognised. Instead, Sinn Féin will punish them.

“The current Public Service Agreement, Building Momentum 2020–2023, will operate for the remainder of this year and Government will soon be engaging with unions to negotiate a successor agreement to provide pay increases as has been the case in recent years.

“What are these other ‘important services’ Sinn Fein has lumped in with their allocation for a pay deal, we have to ask? They can’t amount to much, as every penny taken from this pot for these ‘services’ will be another penny out of the pay deal pot for public servants.

“To put the costs into perspective and demonstrate the paltry sums allocated by Sinn Fein to improve the lot of those who teach our children, nurse our sick and help us to build stronger, safer communities, the total cost of the extension to Building Momentum alone is €1.6 billion over three years, with the total cost over the lifetime of the Agreement being €2.7 billion. The estimated cost in 2023 is €967million.

“Fine Gael is committed to protecting the squeezed middle, which inclues the majority of our public servants, and putting money back into people’s pockets, which is what Budget 2024 will do.

“There is a danger Sinn Fein’s anti jobs approach will wreck the economy, unwind all of the hard work we have done over recent years and denigrate public servants with scraps while they’re doing it,” Deputy English said.

ENDS