EN ECB-PUBLIC  
 
 
OPINION OF THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK 
of 28 January 2014 
on remuneration for public servants during periods of sick leave 
(CON/2014/7) 
 
Introduction and legal basis 
On 6 January 2014, the European Central Bank (ECB)  received a request from the Irish Minister for 
Public Expenditure and Reform (hereinafter ‘the Minister’) for an opinion on the Public Service 
(Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013 (hereinafter the ‘draft law’). 
The ECB’s competence to deliver an  opinion is based on Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the 
Functioning of the European Union and the third indent  of Article 2(1) of Council Decision 98/415/EC of 
29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Ce ntral Bank by national authorities regarding draft 
legislative provisions1, as the draft law relates to the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). In accordance with 
the first sentence of Article 17.5 of the Rules of Pr ocedure of the European Central Bank, the Governing 
Council has adopted this opinion. 
 1.  Purpose of the draft law 
1.1 The draft law amends the Public Service Ma nagement (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 
(hereinafter the ‘2004 Act’). The new Part 7A  of the 2004 Act introduces new rules for the 
remuneration of public servants during periods of sick leave. It empowers the Minister to make 
regulations providing for the payment of such re muneration to public servants, and it contains 
provisions that will be applied by ministerial re gulation to certain ‘public service bodies’ as defined 
in the draft law. The CBI is not excluded from the definition of ‘public service bodies’ contained in the draft law. 
1.2 The new Part 6A of the 2004 Act concerning the re deployment of public servants is also inserted 
by the draft law. The CBI’s staff are explicitly excluded from its provisions. 
 2.  Appropriate time to consult the ECB 2.1  The ECB received the consultation request on 6 January 2014. The ECB notes that the draft law 
has already progressed through the legislative procedure in the Irish Parliament and no further amendments are possible prior to enactment. 
                                                 
1  OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
2 2.2  The ECB reminds the Minister that national authorities are obliged to consult the ECB on draft 
legislative provisions within its field of competence. Article 4 of Decision 98/415/EC provides that the ECB must be consulted ‘at an appropriate stage’  in the legislative process. It follows from this 
that the consultation should take place at a point  in the legislative process that affords the ECB 
sufficient time to examine the draft legislative provisions and adopt its opinion. Pursuant to the 
wording of Article 3(4) of Decision 98/415/EC, Member States are obliged to suspend the process for adoption of the draft legislative provisions pending receipt of the ECB’s opinion in order to 
allow the relevant national authorities to mean ingfully deliberate the ECB’s opinion prior to 
adoption of the provisions in question. The ECB would appreciate it if the Minister would comply in future with the obligation to consult the ECB in  due time so as to allow sufficient time for its 
views to be taken into account in accordance with Decision 98/415/EC. 
 3. General observations As noted in paragraph 1.2 above, the CBI’s staff are explicitly excluded from the new provisions 
concerning the redeployment of public servants, but not from the scope of the new Part 7A of the 2004 
Act, on remuneration during periods of sick leave. As the new Part 7A could therefore apply to and 
directly affect the CBI’s decision-making bodies and its employees, it should be examined from the perspective of central bank independe nce, in particular institutional a nd financial independence, as well as 
that of the personal independence of the members of the CBI’s decision-making bodies. 
 4. Central bank independence 4.1 Member States may not interfere with a national central bank’s (NCB) ability to employ and retain 
the qualified staff  necessary for the NCB to perfo rm independently the tasks conferred on it by the 
Treaty and the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank. 
To protect the NCB’s autonomy in staff matte rs, the ECB has consistently recommended in 
previous opinions and in its convergence repor ts that any amendment to legislation on 
remuneration for members of an NCB’s decision-making bodies and its employees should be decided in close and effective cooperation with the NCB concerned, taking due account of its 
views, to ensure the ongoing ability of that  NCB to independently carry out its tasks
2. 
4.2 Given that the CBI’s employees are employed under the conditions (including conditions as to 
remuneration and allowances) set by the Central Bank Commission3, in order to protect the CBI’s 
autonomy in staff matters, legislative provisions  affecting the remuneration of members of the 
CBI’s decision-making bodies and its employees should be decided in close and effective cooperation with the CBI, taking due account of its views, to ensure the ongoing ability of the CBI 
to independently carry out its tasks. Since the new Part 7A of the 2004 Act concerns remuneration 
                                                 
2  See the ECB’s Convergence Report 2013, p. 27 and the reference to ECB opinions made there. 
3  See section 6D of the Central Bank of  Ireland Act 1942, as inserted by sect ion 7 of the Central Bank and Financial 
Services Authority of Ireland Act 2003 and as amended. 
ECB-PUBLIC  
3 of public servants during periods of sick leave, it constitutes such a legislative provision that would 
affect the remuneration of members of the CBI’s decision-making bodies and its employees4. The 
ECB welcomes the fact that the Minister in the consultation letter to the ECB undertakes to consult 
with the Governor of the CBI and expects that th e Minister will take due account of the Governor’s 
views in this matter. 
 This opinion will be published on the ECB’s website.   Done at Frankfurt am Main, 28 January 2014.  
 
[signed] 
 
The President of the ECB 
Mario DRAGHI 
                                                 
4  See paragraph 2.6 of Opinion CON/2013/41 and the ECB’s Convergence Report 2013, p. 27. All ECB opinions are 
published on the ECB’s webs ite at www.ecb.europa.eu.