Prison officers and gardaí rank as highest paid

PRISON officers and gardaí are on average the best paid public servants according to statistics released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The figures, published yesterday, show that in December 2008 the average weekly wage of a prison officer was €1,219.39, with a garda earning €1,158.88 per week.

This compared to average weekly earnings in the education sector of €964.15 and for semi-state employees of €1,072.40.