Public service wage bill to fall one fifth by 2015

Senior public servants have been warned the Government is looking for greaterefficiency as it revealed the wage bill for the sector will fall by one fifth by 2015.

Brendan Howlin, the public expenditure minister, released figures which show total salaries will come down from €17.5bn at the peak in 2009 to €13.7bn.

He said the €3.8bn savings, by any measure, were very significant.

Mr Howlin told the Public Service Executive Union annual delegate conference in Kilkenny that further reductions in resources and staff were necessary and unavoidable.

“We need to look at more radical and innovative ways to extract costs and deliver increased productivity and reform.

“It is important that all staff get behind the delivery of change, whether it is changing employer or location, retraining, and upskilling to do different things, co-operating with the introduction of shared service operations, or changing the way in which we interact with customers and business.

“Further reform is necessary for the public service to function effectively into the future.”

Mr Howlin said the Government was committed to the Croke Park Agreement, which deals with improving efficiencies in return for wage protection.

“However, as we have said many times now, this will only be possible if there is full and continued co-operation with the implementation of the change and reform agendas.”

By December, staffing numbers across the public service had fallen by more than 23,000 from their 2008 peak. A further 7,500 retired in January and February.