Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Jul 2003

Vol. 570 No. 2

Written Answers. - Public Service Pay.

Richard Bruton

Question:

235 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance the projected increase in the public service pay bill in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 attributable to the implementation of general pay rounds and benchmarking; the total pay bill in each of those years; and the total number of persons on the public payroll. [18682/03]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy):

In 2001 the paybill was €10.186 billion which was an increase of €1.554 billion, 18%, over the previous year. Of this increase, €637 million, 7.4%, was attributable to general round increases, €199 million, 2.3%, was attributable to special increases and the remainder, €718 million, 8.3%, was due to other factors, such as an increase in numbers employed. The total number of public service employees and pensioners in 2001 was 286,985, average annual, which represented an increase of 5% over 2000.

In 2002, the paybill was €11.489 billion, an increase of €1.303 billion, 12.8%, over 2001. Of this increase, €654 million, 6.4%, was attributable to general round increases, €6 million, 0.1%, was attributable to special increases and the remainder, €643 million, 6.3%, was due to other factors, such as an increase in numbers employed. The total number of public service employees and pensioners in 2002 was 300,344, an increase of 4.7% over 2001.

The projected paybill for 2003 is €12.687 billion, which would represent an increase of €1.198 billion, 10.4%, over 2002. Of this increase, €224 million is attributable to general round increases, benchmarking costs are €522 million, which includes arrears of €262 million backdated to 1 December 2001, and €452 million is due to other factors, such as increase in numbers employed. The projected numbers of public service employees and pensioners in 2003 are 310,818, which would be an increase of 3.5% over 2002. The increase in numbers in 2003 is due to a number of factors including a rise in the number of pensioners and the filling of posts sanctioned in previous years but not due to be filled until this year.

The most recent projections for expenditure in 2004 are those published as part of the Budget 2003 documentation on 4 December, 2002. On the basis of those projections, gross pay in 2004 would be around 40% of gross current expenditure. Definitive pay figures for 2004 will not be available until the Estimates for expenditure for that year are agreed by the Government later this year. These figures will be detailed in the 2004 pre-budget Estimates which I expect to publish, as normal, in November next. The additional costs of general rounds and benchmarking in 2004 are €538 million and €253 million, respectively. Details of the Exchequer pay and pensions bill are published by the Department of Finance each year and I will arrange for a copy of the latest booklet to be forwarded to the Deputy.