Retired civil servants share €400k pay for state work
In a written Dáil response, Public Expenditure and Reform minister Brendan Howlin confirmed that at any given time 60 retired public officials are helping with recruitment competitions conducted by the Public Appointments Service (PAS).
Mr Howlin said that for these recruitment competitions the PAS avails of trained and experienced retired public servants as interviewers, assessors, and decision arbitrators.
Mr Howlin confirmed the cost of these services in 2012 totalled €385,856, and the positions are not advertised.
“Any trained professionals can apply to PAS to be placed on the database for our selection boards.”
He added: “At any given time, PAS would have approximately 60 active on their database that would be used from time to time for short periods. For this work, retired members are paid on a fee-per-day basis and are subject to tax and other relevant deductions. The fees are linked to pre-retirement grades and take account of the principle of pension abatement.”
He disclosed the information in a Dáil response to Fine Gael TD Eoghan Murphy, who was seeking information on retired public servants who have been rehired in government departments.
James Reilly, the health minister, confirmed that four senior retired officials at his department have been rehired to help with Ireland’s EU presidency at an aggregate cost of €145,367.
In the response, Dr Reilly states: “These officers have experience and expertise that is essential to a successful presidency for Ireland in the important area of health policy. The fixed-term contracts of employment in each of these cases will terminate as soon as our presidency tasks have been discharged.”
Dr Reilly also confirmed that his special adviser and former CEO of the Northern Area Health Board area, Maureen Windle, received an annual salary of €61,784.
Simon Coveney, the agriculture minister, confirmed he had engaged one assistant secretary general on a contract which was due to expire on Jun 28 at a total cost of €63,553.
“This is calculated at half the rate of the normal assistant secretary general salary.
“His duties involve policy matters relating to the meat and dairy sectors including EU presidency-related functions.”
Elsewhere, Alan Shatter, the justice minister, confirmed that there were four retired judges working for his department, and that they would cost the exchequer €252,000 in 2013.
Mr Shatter said the judges were “carrying out functions such as presiding at high-profile citizenship ceremonies and chairing review boards and tribunals. Payments in respect of these services range from €2,400 to €161,800”.
All retirees returning to carry out work on behalf of Government departments and agencies are subject to ‘public service abatement rules’.
Mr Murphy said last night: “The information shows that the hiring of retired public servants doesn’t happen that much at all.
“It is really is a tiny, tiny amount that are rehired when you consider the numbers working in the public service and I was quite pleased to find that out.”
