Public service ‘fiction’

IN his letter (July 15), Dick Keane describes our public service as “bloated”. This is complete fiction.

The 2008 OECD report showed the Irish public service is one of the smallest in Europe, at only 10% of the workforce. In comparison, the US has 14%, France 23% and Sweden almost 30%.

The same report also showed we spend proportionately less on our public service than the vast majority of other countries.