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THIS WEEK the Dáil’s spending watchdog released a significant report after seven weeks of hearings on public sector allowances – making a series of recommendations on how public money might be better and more appropriately allocated.
The Public Accounts Committee’s full report can be read here, but the following is a selection of the stand-out numbers from that report.
292,000 – The number of people currently on the public payroll. That’s down from 320,000 as of the end of 2008, and could be down to 285,000 next year.
8 per cent – The total proportion of public pay which is taken up by allowances. Allowances cost about €1.4 billion in 2011. Education allowances cost almost half of this, and accounts for about a third of the overall total of 1,100 allowances.
€244.86 – The weekly wage of a private in the Permanent Defence Force, the lowest-paid member of the public service.
82 per cent – The proportion of public servants who earn under €60,000 a year.
40 per cent - The proportion of public servants who earn less than €40,000 a year, including allowances.
€27 million – The annual bill for allowances which will not be paid to new appointees to the public service.
€395 million – The annual cost of the 235 allowances which will continue to be paid to those who served at a grade prior to February 2012, but which will not be continued.
98 – The number of allowances which will now be the subject of “intense negotiations” as the government looks for early elimination. This process is to be finished by February.
5 – The number of recommendations of the report, which are as follows:
9,053 – The number of recipients of of the ‘Military Service Allowance’ – which is paid to almost all staff under the aegis of the Department of Defence, costing €52.7 million per year. 4,654 staff also receive ‘technical pay’ worth a total of €7.7 million.
€4,468,257.56 – The amount that will be saved by scrapping the Border Duty Allowance – the single biggest saving being achieved at the Department of Defence. It is currently paid to 761 staff.
120 – The number of days for which a member of the Dáil or Seanad needs to be in attendance at Leinster House in order to become entitled to the full complement of travel and accommodation allowances.
€1,388,913 – The unvouched payments made to Oireachtas members for ‘public representation’ and secretarial allowances.
16 per cent – The portion of the overall teaching pay bill which is accounted for by allowances.
41,500 – The number of teaching staff who receive the ‘supervision and substitution’ allowance, which costs a total of €118 million.
4,829 – The number of teachers earning the long service allowance, for having worked for over 35 years, which costs €11 million a year.
€3.15 million – The amount that will be saved by removing the ‘teaching through Irish’ allowance paid to teachers. This accounts for over a third of the €9 million savings from the Department of the Environment.
93.8 per cent – The proportion of staff from the Irish Prison Service who receive operation and rent allowances. 3,218 of the 3,429 personnel at the service receive each payment.
€1.3 million – The amount to be saved by withdrawing clerical allowance from the Gardaí who receive it.
30.38 per cent – The proportion of a Garda sergeant’s gross pay which comes from allowances and overtime.
2.6 per cent – The proportion of the total HSE pay bill which is made up by allowances (€166.5 million of €6.4 billion).
8,765 – The number of HSE employees who are receiving an ‘acting-up allowance’, in lieu of actually having been appointed to a superior position, at an annual cost of €17.7 million.
€7.95 million – The amount the HSE had, until recently, paid to consultants in allowances for them to continue their medical education.
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This happened the same day as the mother and baby report was released. FFG know well what they’re at timing it as such. Shower of…..
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: majority of comments deleted due to language unfortunately. I wish that we all contact our elected politicians today and say NO. I didn’t break regulations and I do not accept this from banks nor political parties or anyone.
@Ciarán O’ Donoghue: FFG is not a party. Bit like saying SFDUP which would be inaccurate.
@Fionn Darland: well there are some very major differences between sf and the dup, you may have noticed them, on the other hand there are zero differences between ff and fg so to all intents and purposes they are one party.
@Fionn Darland:
FFG pretends to be 2 separate parties but they can be regarded as a solitary party.
@Paul Somers: couldn’t of said it better myself
Do as I as I say, not as I do.
@John Fairclough: farcical.
@John Fairclough: excuse me, but how can a comment that I or you made now appear in a different article. Neither of us saw this poor article, we respectfully commented on a well articulated article two days ago.
Couple months off on full pay, and snouts back in the trough. They’re taking the p.
Same old thing. coalition and FF will be gone within 6 months.
@John Collier: To be replaced by what exactly?
@Eoin McCarthy: Sinn Fein?
Getting FFG out of power is essential. They have had 100 years uninterrupted power.
The housing crisis and health crisis will never be solved with FFG in power so they need to go. Urgently.
Things are moving in that direction. its downward spiral of support continues. Currently at 43% support the next election should hopefully further rediuce its support to 35%.
Very smart of them to say ‘I shouldn’t have been there in the first place’ rather than saying that the tax-subsidesed Party shouldn’t have happened in the first place
Personal responsibility when it reflects bad on their mates, shared responsibility when it looks refkects on them as individuals. The typical FFG line. Yawn.
@Dylan Byrne: How was it subsidised by tax payer? FFG is not a party. Bit like saying SFDUP which would be inaccurate.
@Dylan Byrne: It wasn’t taxpayer subsidised
Con men.
Typical FF.
Totally gutless.
Their a rses w hipped is what should be done !
When will the people of this country wake up and stop voting for this FFG Mafia.
Funny how they ‘shouldn’t have been there in the first place’ isn’t ‘that Party the tax payers paid for shouldn’t have happened in the first place’
Personal responsibility when it reflects badly on their mates – Shared responsibility when it reflects badly on themselves.
Typical FFG line, it’s hardly surprising anymore.
This is not a Fairway to treat the Public, it’s Bunker politics again and putts stroke play back on the cards.
@James Keogh: Hole in one there!!
Definition of insanity electing the same low life and expecting a different outcome
At this stage I have to ask why do people vote for them?
This world is doomed 70m trump supporters says it all
@Helena O Riordan: sorry to say but when there is a reasonable alternative. They are all the same at the moment. All there to skim what they can from the surface and crawl away with all the benefits and not be answerable to anyone.
@Edward Reid:
It’s time to give Sinn Fein a chance. If they screw up then they can be voted out again.
Getting rid of FFG is now urgent.
Oh what contempt ff and fg hold the people of this country in! And to announce this at midnight in the midst of the mother and baby report findings. Proof if any was needed that those who hold the power in this country laugh at the “little people “.
Election on the way by the look of this crack.
It’s just a magic roundabout that goes around and around. Rest in peace zeibidee, the way you popped up to surprise us back in them days is long gone.
Bigger issues to be dealt with tbh. Are we all so innocent. One thing about politicians is they are open to criticism every day, we the people are not
@Fintan O’Halloran: when you enter that life, you take the good and bad that comes with it, I have no time for “selective” politicians. If you live in the public life, you accept the public criticism, end of.
@Fintan O’Halloran: They should be held to a higher standard than us, the people that elect and pay them.
@Fintan O’Halloran: The politicians with their salary plus vouched and unvouched expences should certainly be open to criticism . The circus continues.
@Fintan O’Halloran: Sure they attack and undermine each other more than the public does. I wouldn’t be too concerned with their feelings. You can be sure they’re not bother about yours.
How cynical can you get?…releasing this news on a big Newsday with the Mother and children’s homes report. The media in this country have a lot to answer for.
GOOD OLD IRISH POLITICS
FF looking after their own
Ahem…..
I wonder if we will ever get an honest government in power in Ireland?. The dealings and bull s**t that spout from hese people beggers belief.
This is appalling.
We had a referendum on keeping the Seanad in 2013. We voted – with a very small margin – to keep it, on the clear understanding that it would be reformed and made democratically accountable.
Nothing has happened since.
ALL senators are thieves. They are claiming a salary of 70,000 eur a year each for doing absolutely nothing.
The Seanad needs to be abolished.
18 comments here. 108 on one if another county’s politics. This is why these things continue here.
Ooh friend.! Fukn politican friend!
Someone once said we get the government we deserve…that says it all
Makes me sick the way these ars–olesget away with breaking the law
Goes to show how deluded ffg are. They seem to not think breaking the law is a problem. Funny how this happens when the gravest of reports is released, so the attention is off them. A report that subsequently critized numerous ffg governments
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