Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 129: To ask the Minister for Finance the expected Exchequer savings for 2009, 2010 and 2011 from both the civil and public service incentivised career break and early retirement programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25657/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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In the April 2009 supplementary budget, I announced a range of initiatives which are intended to lead to savings in the public service pay bill. The Government has decided to offer an Incentivised Scheme of Early Retirement in the public service to reduce the public service pay bill and facilitate a permanent, structural reduction in the numbers of staff serving in the Civil Service, local authorities, the health sector, non-commercial state bodies and certain other areas of the public service. The scheme is open to applications from 1 May 2009 until 1 September 2009.

The Government has also decided to implement two new work-life balance initiatives, the Special Civil Service Incentive Career Break Scheme to facilitate civil servants in taking a career break for three years, and the Shorter Working Year Scheme which replaces the existing Term Time Scheme.

I included a tentative estimate in the April budget of savings of up to €150 million in 2009 and €300 million in a full year. Achieving these savings is entirely dependent on take up, which is impossible to project with any firm degree of confidence.