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€162 million saved in Local Government under the Croke Park Agreement - Hogan
Environment Minister Phil Hogan today announced that local authorities have made savings of just under €162 million in the first reporting period under the Croke Park Agreement - up to March of this year. The savings were broken down equally between pay and non-pay.
The majority of €130 million of the savings were made through restructuring and productivity and performance initiatives. Local authorities also achieved significant savings, €26 million, through improved procurement, particularly, in respect of the procurement of energy, waste, chemicals and machinery.
The reduction in staff in the sector has reduced by 6,600 (whole time equivalents) since mid 2008, including a reduction of 1,300 in the reporting period between March 2010 and March 2011.
Speaking today, Minister Hogan said...
A key, but very difficult, challenge under the Croke Park Agreement is that the work carried out by departing staff must be absorbed by the remaining staff while at the same time services are maintained. In order to achieve this objective, local authority management and staff have implemented the restructuring and productivity measures required to deal with the reduction in numbers while at the same time being proactive in terms of procurement and reductions in overtime and allowances. It is a credit to all who work in local authorities around the country, and deliver front-line services to the public, that they have achieved these savings while maintaining service levels and avoiding any significant industrial unrest.
The Minister concluded...
The savings reported do not tell the whole story in relation to local authorities. Because local authorities derive the majority of their current funding from local sources and these revenue sources have been declining significantly since 2008, local authorities have had to be early movers, in terms of increased efficiency and expenditure reduction since that time, in order to balance their finances. This is evidenced by the fact that 5,300 staff left the system between mid 2008 and March 2010.