A number of trade unions have said that they will refer to the pay increases awarded by the Government to TDs, Ministers, senators and senior public servants when pressing for pay increases for their members.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland said the union supported the right of any workers to seek pay increases, adding that the Oireachtas members' increases would strengthen the union's hand in its pay dispute with the Government.
Referring to the argument in the report that the "business of government is now more complex and demanding than ever before", she said secondary teachers were using much the same arguments in their pay claim.
There was a similar reaction from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, which said it "sincerely hoped" the same criteria would be used for AGSI members when the time came to process their salary claims through the bench marking process.
The AGSI general secretary, Mr George Maybury, said the job of all members of the Garda Siochana had changed out of all recognition over the past few years.
Meanwhile, organisations lobbying on behalf of the poor said the increases agreed by the Department of Finance raised serious questions about the Government's commitment to eliminating income poverty.
Father Sean Healy, justice spokesman for the Council of Religious in Ireland, described the contrast between the increase in TDs' annual salaries of 19 per cent from £39,000 to £46,500 and the increase of £8 per week given to social welfare recipients in last year's Budget as "stark".
The increases come after a report to the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. A TD's take-home pay will increase by about £80 per week while that of ministers will increase by about £200 a week.
Father Healy said that while he did think it was important that pay should increase for TDs to reflect the realities in the marketplace, he was concerned at "the failure of the same TDs and Ministers to make any real impact on the incomes of the poorest in society".
CORI had said the minimum increase for social welfare recipients in the December Budget should have been at least £10 per week and that £14 would have kept the Government's commitment under the PPF.
"The actual amount of money it would take to eliminate income poverty is not dramatic, but it would seem this objective is not a political priority," Father Healy said.
Mr Tony Monks, general secretary of the Irish Organisation of the Unemployed, said the fact that the increases were proposed by a review body added weight to the INOU argument that social welfare increases should not be left to the whim of an individual finance minister.
He called for the speedy publication of a Department of Finance report on index-linking social welfare payments before the next Budget.
The full text of the Buckley report on public sector pay levels is available on the Irish Times website, www.ireland.com
