Ex-public servants paid €1.36m for interviews

Retired public servants have shared a €1.36m bonanza for interviewing candidates for public service jobs over the past five years, new figures show.

According to data released by the Public Appointments Service in response to a Freedom of Information request, one retired public servant received €37,660 for conducting interviews and assessing applicants between 2012 and 2010.

The figures show that the PAS paid out €2.921m to individuals to carry out 25,792 interviews over the past five years. Of that figure, individuals from the private sector received €1.559m, with retired public servants receiving the remaining €1.36m, or 46.6% of the total.