17 April 2003: The failure of Government to make proper provision for benchmarking payments may well force commercial enterprises to plead inability to pay the new national pay agreement, according to Charles Meiklereid, president of Newbridge and District Chamber of Commerce.
In a comment on a meeting last Wednesday between Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) Rate Payers Council and the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Local Government, Mr Meiklereid noted that the shortfall in money required to pay local authority staff will reach 110 million euros by 2005.
"It is ironic that one of the main factors which may drive business to use this clause is the fact that they have been forced to finance the much larger pay increases due to local authority staff through increased commercial rates and other charges.”
The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) Rate Payers Council is chaired by Peter Byrne, CEO of the NDCC, who led the delegation to the Oireachtas committee.
They argued that the Government should meet its local government funding commitments rather than expecting Irish business to pick up the tab. "This would be more effective in improving Irish competitiveness than simply sitting around in a cabinet meeting talking about the problem," Mr Byrne said, and emphasised the council's belief that in attempting to justify its record in this area, the Government have only highlighted its on-going mismanagement of local government financing.
"Having expanded the cost base of local government in recent years, they are now failing to either reduce the cost base or to properly index the Local Government Fund," he added.
