Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of public servants in receipt of long service increments; the cost to the taxpayer of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17368/09]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The number of Civil Servants in my Department who are in receipt of Long Service Increments is 1,626. An Officer may become eligible for a Long Service Increment after three years on the maximum point of the standard pay scale and thereafter for the award of a second Long Service Increment after a further three years.

The difference between the total salary including Long Service Increments currently in payment and the total value of the maximum point of the standard pay scale which would otherwise have been payable to these individuals is €3,988,604. The actual additional full year cost is slightly less than this because in any given year, there are a number of first time recipients of long-service increments who receive these payments for part of the year only. Also, in any year, a number of those in receipt of Long Service Increments may work less than a full year by reason of having availed of term-time or worksharing arrangements. It is not possible in the timescale to provide a detailed analysis of the cost of these increments based on the sum of all the individual employees concerned.