Almost 380 government staff on career breaks

Almost 380 staff in Government departments are on career breaks, a third of them for more than three years.

In two departments alone, Justice and Social Protection, there are more than 70 civil servants on unpaid long-term leave each.

The figures, released to Fianna Fáil’s Barry Cowen through a series of parliamentary questions to 16 Government departments, show that 115 of the 379 people were on career breaks of more than four years.