MINISTER FOR Health Mary Harney has said the Government has no plans to revisit the Croke Park agreement on public service pay and reform and that any savings to be made in the health budget would have to come from non-core pay and greater staff flexibility.
On Tuesday, Ms Harney indicated health spending may be cut by up to €1 billion next year.
However, core pay for civil service staff is protected under the terms of the agreement.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, she said the “big challenge” for the agreement is to deliver change on the ground and flexible working practices.
She said about €1 billion of the HSE pay bill is for non-core pay and this figure needed to be looked at in an “aggressive fashion” to see if savings could be made to minimise the effect of cuts on frontline services.
Ms Harney said staff working hours, premium rates of pay, rosters and day wards were all issues that needed to be looked at in the run-up to the budget.
When asked about calls for a cut in ministerial pay, Ms Harney said nothing should be ruled out ahead of the budget.
“We’ve all got a responsibility to play our part but I’m not going to speculate on what’s going to be in the budget.
“Clearly we need a lot of buy-in from the community and obviously those of us in leadership positions have to show leadership in this regard,” she added.
Meanwhile, health service management and union representatives yesterday met Pat Harvey, the chairman of the health service implementation body for the Croke Park agreement on public service reform.
The talks considered proposals drawn up by the Department of Health in its action plan for the Croke Park agreement.
It is understood that at the talks, HSE management confirmed to unions for the first time that they are considering a voluntary redundancy scheme for administrative and clerical grades. No details were provided.