Published: Friday, 29th January, 2010 12:00pm

Case of Tullamore public sector worker highlighted in the Dáil

The case of an Offaly Department of Education employee was highlighted in the Dáil this week to illustrate the impact cuts to public sector pay are having on families across the country.

On Tuesday, Mary Duffy - who works for the Department at its Tullamore office - addressed a conference in Dublin, which was organised by the public sector union CPSU.

She stated that she and her husband had their house repossessed after he became unemployed.

Her family was now living in rented accommodation on a pay packet of €451 per week, she said.

In the Dáil on Wednesday, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said Mrs Duffy's case showed the difficulties low-paid public servants were experiencing following "the unfair pay cuts imposed on them by Fianna Fáil and the Green Party" in the budget.

He said Mrs Duffy had her pay cut by €77 per week, while "the Government did a sweetheart deal for some of the more senior officers of Mary's Department and other Departments - people who are paid six or seven times what she is paid."

Deputy Gilmore said: "Mary Duffy and her colleagues have been subject for a year or more to a vulgar campaign of abuse demeaning the work they do and demoralising those who do it."

He asked Tánaiste Mary Coughlan to give Mrs Duffy "a straight answer as to whether her pay will be cut a third time by the Government?"

The Tánaiste rejected Deputy Gilmore's claim that the Government was conducting "a vulgar campaign" against public servants.

When pressed about whether or not public servants should expect further pay cuts, she replied: "We are not in a position to give such undertakings. It would be completely wrong to give such an undertaking in January."

The Tánaiste said the Government was anxious to pursue public sector reform, which would reduce the pressure for savings on pay.

"When we talk about the smart economy, we should realise it is not just for the private sector but for the public sector also. It is about innovative ways of implementing change in the delivery of services to citizens.

"Technology and new work practices will be employed so we can have a modern economy," she said.

The Tánaiste added that such reforms were "absolutely necessary."