Civil servants claim €100m in expenses and overtime

CIVIL servants racked up a bill of €100 million last year in overtime, mileage and meal expenses, official figures show.

Some staff in Government departments used overtime to boost their pay packets by up to €50,000 each - almost double the average annual salary in the private sector.

An analysis of figures provided to the Irish Examiner revealed the State paid out €53m to civil servants during the year on travel expenses.