Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 312: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of public servants in receipt of long service increments; the cost to the taxpayer of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17365/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The current authorised number of staff in the Department of Foreign Affairs is 1578. The following table sets out the number of staff in my Department who are in receipt of long service increments (LSIs), along with the associated cost.

A first long service increment (LSI 1) may be paid after three years' satisfactory service at the maximum point of the relevant salary scale. A second long service increment (LSI 2) is payable after six years' satisfactory service at the maximum point of the scale. The cost of a long service increment has been calculated as the difference between the maximum point and the relevant LSI point of the salary scale.