Retiring public staff to get €110k lump sums

Public sector workers retiring this year will walk away with average lump sum payments of €110,000 under a new round of redundancies planned by the Government.

The targeted exit scheme for thousands of workers is expected to cost taxpayers €440m and it will be several years before the money for the generous redundancies is recouped through savings.

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin brought a memorandum to the Cabinet yesterday outlining the initial job numbers to go in health, agriculture, and education, and the terms for workers.