The new head of the union representing higher civil servants has said he will be urging the Government to reverse pay cuts for his members prior to the scheduled expiry of the Haddington Road agreement in 2016.

The Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (AHCPS) yesterday announced the appointment of Ciaran Rohan as its new general secretary.

Haddington Road talks

He has been assistant general secretary of the union since 2008. He was a member of the AHCPS executive committee from 2002 including three years as chairman and vice-chairman.

He was involved in the talks at national level that eventually led to the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements with the Government.

Mr Rohan said in his new role he would vigorously continue to pursue pay restoration for AHCPs members and would be “calling on the Government to restore those cuts prior to the timeframe outlined in the Haddington Road agreement”.

“The AHCPS wishes to ensure that quality services are delivered for the public by our members. Ongoing cutbacks diminish the very infrastructure of public service in this country.

’Ongoing erosion’

“We see a clear case for an end to the ongoing erosion of funding for the public service. Indeed, budget 2015 is an optimal opportunity for the Government to commence phasing out these damaging cuts.”

He said he would also focus on improving succession planning “to increase the availability of experienced and capable employees to suitable roles within the civil and public service”.