Lump sums of €100,000 or more are being paid to 263 Civil Service retirees this year.

Figures provided by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform show that a 1,338 civil servants have retired or are due to retire in 2014. This is 57 per cent more than the 850 departures it had forecast, after 820 retirements last year.

Some 48.2 per cent of those leaving the Civil Service were entitled to lump sums ranging from less than €10,000 to €50,000; 32.4 per cent were entitled to lump sums of €50,000 to €100,000; and 19.6 per cent received payments of more than €100,000.

The figures, provided to Fianna Fáil spokesman on public expenditure Seán Fleming, show 24 people were entitled to lump sums in excess of €160,000 and that payments of between €100,000 and €130,000 were made to 169 people. A total of 176 people received €10,000 or less with the same number receiving €10,000 to €20,000.

The department said that lump sum payments accrue at a rate of 3/80ths of salary for every year (or part thereof) of service up to a maximum of 1½ times final salary for those who have a full 40 years service.

Early retirement

The total also includes people who previously resigned from the civil service and this year reached preserved pension age, which can be 60 or 65, and claimed their lump sums, and payments to people who took early retirement under an incentivised scheme in 2009.

Asked for the total cost of lump sum payments this year, a spokeswoman for the department replied that it would be published on Thursday.

Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin last week told the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform that, by late November, more than €75 million had been spent in the budgetary area which provides for lump sum payments to established civil servants and he expected the figure to rise to some €85 million by end year.

He made the comments as he informed the committee of his need for a net supplementary estimate of €22.25 million for his department's Superannuation and Retired Allowances vote, which was required mainly to pay for retirement costs.

Mr Fleming was critical of Mr Howlin for coming to the committee without detailed figures and for failing to provide them ahead of a Dáil vote on the supplementary estimate last Thursday.

The department spokeswoman said: “The Minister committed in his engagement with Deputy Fleming to circulating the information the deputy requested as soon as it was available and indeed offered him a briefing with the relevant senior official.

“The requested information was supplied this (Tuesday) morning.”