Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 161: To ask the Minister for Finance the average yearly wage of persons employed in the public service for each of the past five years including 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29743/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Factors such as differences in staff work patterns present difficulties in compiling meaningful average figures on earnings.

However, the Central Statistics Office publishes statistics on average weekly earnings in the public sector. These are available on the website of the Central Statistics Office www.cso.ie.

These figures produced by the Central Statistics Office relate to the public sector, including commercial state-sponsored bodies, but exclude the health sector. Average earnings on this basis, expressed in annual terms and rounded to the nearest €100, for the past five years are shown as follows. The figure available for 2009 covers the period to March 2009 only.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 (to March 2009) €44,000 €46,000 €48,100 €49,500 €50,800

The latest report by the CSO indicates that the increase in average earnings in the year from March 2008 to March 2009 was 3.4%. This would take account of increases payable with effect from March and September 2008 under the pay agreement associated with the Towards 2016 Social Partnership Agreement. It should be noted that the figures shown relate to gross earnings and do not reflect the impact of the public service pensions-related deduction introduced earlier this year.