Jonathan O'Brien
Question:96. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons working in the public sector on a wage of less than €11.70 per hour. [28722/18]
View answerTuesday, 3 July 2018
Questions (96, 97, 98, 99)
Jonathan O'Brien
Question:97. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons working in the public sector on a wage of less than €11.70 per hour disaggregated by Vote and professional role, for example, nurse, special needs assistant and so on. [28723/18]
View answerJonathan O'Brien
Question:98. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated cost of increasing salaries of all those working in the public sector on a wage of less than €11.70 per hour to a wage of €11.70 per hour. [28724/18]
View answerJonathan O'Brien
Question:99. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated cost of instituting a minimum salary of €11.70 per hour within the public sector. [28725/18]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 96 to 99, inclusive, together.
The information sought in this request would require detailed data on the position of staff on each salary scale across the public service and details of the standard working hours per week for each individual grade. This data is not held in my Department.
Pay band data that is available to my Department indicates that some 94% of all public service staff are on salary points in excess of €25,000 per annum. The suggested wage at €11.70 per hour based on the Civil Service 37 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of €22,589.
Any of those currently on an annual salary of less than €22,589 could be receiving remuneration in excess of the suggested living wage through additional premium payments in respect of shift or atypical working hours or are on salary scales that progress to the suggested living wage through incremental progression.
Data based on Civil Service staff only at end of May 2018 indicates that only some 1% of staff in the Civil Service are on salary points less than €22,589. Within the Civil Service, there are just below 1,000 staff members on less than €11.70 per hour. The grades involved include temporary clerical officers, services officers, and service attendants.
The estimated cost within the civil service, which is some 12% of the overall public service, would be some €3.6m (Headcount). Detailed costings in other sectors of the public service would require collation and estimation on an individual sector level.
Under the new Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020, from January 2018 pay rates in the public service have been further adjusted. The pay increases provided for under the Agreement are again progressively weighted towards the lower paid with benefits ranging from 7.4% to 6.2% over the term to end 2020. As a result, further pay rises under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 will act to increase staff numbers earning above the living wage.