Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2011
24 Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will respond to correspondence (details supplied) regarding the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39359/11]
View answerI understand that the Deputy is also seeking a response from the Minister for Finance in relation to correspondence supplied and as agreed with the Deputy my response will be in relation to Public Service numbers. As outlined in the Public Service Reform Plan that I published on 17 November last, the Government plans to reduce the size of the public service to 282,500 by 2015. The numbers reduction set out in the Budget this week will see 2012 public service numbers reduced to some 294,000, a 6,000 reduction over projected end 2011 figure of 300,000. This represents a third of the required reductions between now and 2015 and is consistent with Government's policy to front-load the correction, thus maximising the potential savings. Overall, from the peak level in 2008, by end 2015 we will see a 37,500 reduction in numbers. There will also be a €3.5 billion or 20% reduction in the Exchequer pay bill over that period.
The delivery of the numbers reductions and pay bill saving are a key element of the public service reform agenda to which Government is committed. In order to mitigate the impact on front-line service provision as far as possible we will fully use the mechanism set out in the Public Service Reform Plan, including the filling of essential posts and the utilisation of redeployment.
