Sick leave in the public service cost more than €380m last year.

A retired senior civil servant in the Department of Health and Children, who was caught in possession of nearly 60,000 child pornography images and videos, has avoided jail.

A trade union representing low-paid civil servants has claimed new recruits are now earning up to €7,000 less than their lowest paid colleagues in some roles.

Long-serving current and former civil servants who have entered civil partnerships or who plan to get married to their same-sex partner have been refused the right to upgrade their single person’s pension to a spouse and children pension.

One of the glaring gaps in the current arrangement in the civil service is the absence of a performance management system for secretaries general, writes Kevin Rafter

A major shift in civil service culture is needed to tackle poor performance, outside experts have warned.

Pressure is mounting on the Government to cut payments to former senior civil servants with new figures showing 35 retirees are in receipt of gold-plated pensions in excess of €100,000.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has published a consultation paper on strengthening accountability and performance within the civil service.