Civil service grows by 50 per cent in last decade

The number of civil servants has increased by nearly 50 per cent in the past decade, according to figures released by the Department of Public Expenditure.

The numbers of civil servants have increased in all grades but it is at the middle-ranking grades where the increases have been biggest.

There are just under 53,000 civil servants employed by the State, the figures show, a subset of the more than 400,000 people who work in the broader public service.

That shows an increase of more than 50 per cent from the 36,000 civil servants in the State in 2015, though that number had declined from the 2000s during the years of austerity.

A New Zealander in Dublin: ‘It feels like people work to live here as opposed to living to work’

The D4 farmers: Why the rich are buying up land to avoid inheritance tax

Israel-Iran ceasefire announcement shows Trump’s uncanny ability to shape the narrative

The rate of increase in the Civil Service is higher than the public service more generally, which has seen numbers grow from about 300,000 in 2015 to more than 400,000 today.

Figures supplied to the Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne show there were 30 secretaries general in 2015, plus four second secretaries general. Today there are 37 secretaries general and no second secretaries.

There were 20 deputy secretaries general in 2015 and 22 today; and 224 assistant secretaries in 2015, and 281 today.

The number of principal officers has increased from 1,281 to 2,061; assistant principals from 3,568 to 6,816; higher executive officers from 4,424 to 7,161; administrative officers from 2,029 to 3,726 and executive officers from 5,981 to 11,526.

Annual salaries for secretaries general range from €245,000 to €275,000; assistant secretaries from €166,000 to €190,000, principal officers from €104,000 to €139,000, and higher executive officers from €58,000 to €75,000.

After several years of austerity in the wake of the financial crisis, the government had begun to roll back public sector pay cuts and the headcount reductions in many areas of the public service by the end of 2015.

In the period since, there has been a rapid expansion of public sector numbers, while pay levels have also rebounded quickly for public servants.

In part this was a response to the end of the austerity years, but it was also a response to population growth and the consequent demands on public services.

The numbers of healthcare workers, teachers and other providers of public services have all increased considerably.

The total public sector pay bill has almost doubled in the 10 years since 2015.

“We are a country that is growing rapidly and government is more complex so we need a Civil Service to match. But we also need to ensure that increases in numbers result in increases in productivity and efficiency,” Mr Byrne said.

“More and better civil servants should help us prepare for housing delivery as well as ensuring we have the necessary digital and energy infrastructure for the future, not trying to force government into binary choices.”