The Labour Party has accused the Government of attempting to "buy the next election" after it emerged that the current Estimates provide for the employment of an additional 8,800 public sector staff by the end of the year.
Labour party spokeswoman Joan Burton also said that the planned increase in public service expenditure of 13 per cent was also an indication that "the Government is already splurging, in preparation for the election".
Figures contained in the revised Estimates indicate that employment is set to rise in the education sector by 2,800 this year, and in the health sector by 4,795. There are also plans to increase personnel in the justice and Garda sectors by 1,933.
"While I welcome additional staff in areas such as health, education and the gardaí, we need to be sure that these staff will work at the front line," Ms Burton said. "The Government's record in this regard is poor."
A spokesman for the Minister for Finance rejected Ms Burton's comments "out of hand".
He said that there were well-publicised Government commitments to increase the numbers of special needs teachers and additional front-line staff in the health service, and this was reflected in the figures provided in the revised Estimates.