Civil service overtime - Ministers must control spending

THE astronomical cost of overtime in the civil service, estimated at €100 million for the past year alone, is mind boggling.

Having gifted the public service with the highly controversial benchmarking pay bonanza, the Government is now presiding over an expenses give-away that allows some civil servants to top up their pay packets by almost €50,000 extra a year.

Today’s Irish Examiner analysis of overtime and travel-related expenses, reveals that €45m was doled out in overtime while €53m went on travel and subsistence payments.

The urgent need for a full review of overtime pay is undeniable as some State employees are able to boost their pay packets by almost double the average annual salary in the private sector.

Some idea of the huge amounts being paid out within the public service was seen in the dispute between prison officers and Justice Minister Michael McDowell. Only at the 11th hour was a strike threat averted, clearing the way for reform of the Dickensian conditions in Ireland’s jails.

Significantly, the vast amounts being earned in overtime pay by prison officers and members of the gardaí are not included in today’s estimates.

From the analysis, it is clear that a similar strategy to the no-nonsense McDowell approach to overtime is now warranted in other Government departments.

With thousands of private sector employees at the pin of their collars to make ends meet in Ireland’s high cost economy, it is understandable people should feel aggrieved over the Government’s failure to keep the lid on civil service pay and overtime.

Illustrating the sheer scale of the controversy, one civil servant at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources picked up a cool €49,000 in addition to the annual salary. At the same time, some staff members in Agriculture, Justice, and Education were bumping up their pay packets by more than €40,000 for work outside normal office hours. In the OPW, one person collected €45,000 from overtime, while an official in the Revenue Commissioners made an extra €30,000.

By any standard, those figures are inexcusable.

Taken overall, non-salary-related pay comes to an average of around €1,600 in overtime for every member of the civil service. That figure jumps to over €3,500 per staff member when travel-related expenses are added to the bill.

During the year, some 2,000 staff across the service claimed more than €6,350 each in overtime pay. The figures include additional payments of more than €20m in shift and roster allowances, handouts classified as “miscellaneous” and, intriguingly, rewards for so-called “higher, special or additional duties”.

A cynic might be tempted to recall that under benchmarking, which has yet to deliver the much-publicised bonus of greater accountability and productivity, politicians also gain handsomely from each tranche of public service pay increase.

Controlling costs is an essential aspect of Government. But it can only be achieved if ministers are in control of spending, including the amount of overtime being paid to officials.

As today’s figures clearly demonstrate, there is an onus on Government ministers to confront the challenge of minimising overtime in a no-nonsense manner right across the civil service.