“Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason examining the costs and the benefits is not an appropriate tool for considering the cost of reducing the number of staff in the public service compared with the ongoing benefits of cost reductions in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil Éireann Written Answers, 1 May]
“Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (Deputy Brendan Howlin): The size of the public service grew significantly in the early years of the last decade. By 2008, some 320,000 were employed in the public service and, by 2009, the gross Exchequer pay bill peaked at more than €17.5bn. It is perhaps easy to become jaded in our discussion of public service pay costs. However, I would ask the House to note that the total net cost of the public service pay bill will be reduced from 2008 to 2015 by some €3.5bn – by 20% in seven years …” (more)
[Dáil Éireann, 8 March]
“Up to 3,000 staff will be recruited into the public sector where necessary to maintain services, mainly in health and education, public expenditure minister Brendan Howlin has told the Dáil …” (more)
[Fearghal O’Connor, Business Post, 8 March]
