While the country's biggest union, Siptu, last week recommended that workers accept the national pay agreement . . . worth almost 4.5% a year for the next two years . . . public servants can also look forward to a second pay helping under the controversial benchmarking pay report, due out this time next year.

The Department of Finance has set aside 1.9m this year to employ outside consultants to examine the pay of gardai, teachers and civil servants, and then 'benchmark' these against comparable jobs in the private sector. The government has already advertised for consultants who will start work this autumn.

The Public Service Benchmarking Body . . . headed by senior barrister, Dan O'Keefe . . . will then examine these reports and increase the public servants' pay accordingly.

Following initial delays in setting up the benchmarking body, it is not expected to report back until next June, after the general election.

In addition to benchmarking, the country's most senior public servants . . . including the Taoiseach, ministers and judges . . . are also due a 'special' pay rise next year, which will also be paid on top of national increases. Like benchmarking, the top level pay report won't be published until after the election.

The last benchmarking report, in 2002, awarded public servants an average increase of 9%, ranging from 13% for teachers to 5% for gardai.

These awards were paid on top of the national pay agreement, which had the effect of giving public servants almost twice as much as private sector workers.

Public service unions have always argued that workers in the private sector are better paid and also have access to such perks as company cars and bonuses. But economists and, increasingly, private sector unions, have strongly opposed the extra increases handed over to public servants under benchmarking.

They argue that wage increases in the private sector have slowed down in the last number of years while public servants have a guaranteed job for life and gilt-edged pensions.

The 2002 report, which has cost the taxpayers an extra 1.3bn, attracted huge controversy and it is expected that the next report will be even more controversial.

The public service pay bill now stands at over 16bn and has been increasing at a steep rate of over 1bn a year for the last five years. The main criticism levied against benchmarking was that the consultants' reports upon which the generous pay increases for public servants were based were kept confidential.

The finance minister in 2002, Charlie McCreevy, ruled that the Benchmarking Body was not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The Department of Finance subsequently promised greater transparency and invited members of the public to make submissions to the benchmarking body on the pay of public servants. There was no commitment, however, to release details of the consultants' reports.