Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)

I want to comment on and ask about rehiring retired workers in the public sector. Late last year we made great play of the announcement that we were seeking the early retirement of 6,000 or 7,000 of our public sector workers, and that happened. The scheme was not targeted at areas of the public sector where there is fat or excess, which meant that specialised fields were left open to sudden retirements. When my business was in trouble in 2008, we agonised for months over who we could let go, how we could best run the business, and from which area of the business we could let people go. We finally let ten people go, which saved us €250,000 and the business. However, we did not rehire those people, because that would have returned us to the previous position.

In the public sector we allowed all those who wanted to leave to retire and in excess of 8,000 have left. However, in the Department of Social Protection, the Minister has permitted the rehiring of the chief medical officer due to his specific skills and experience and because of the difficulty and long lead-in time for a replacement. He had left his job, but is now rehired on a salary of €80,000. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has rehired seven former senior officials on contracts ranging in length up to three years. Will the Leader find out for us what it cost the State for the 8,000 public servants who retired in the first quarter of this year? Also, what is it costing the State to give jobs back to some of these people? This does not make commercial sense.