Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 26: To ask the Minister for Finance the estimated saving to the Exchequer of the approximate 1,000 public servants who have opted for early retirement; his expectation of the take up of early retirement in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44840/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The returns from Departments, received by my Department, regarding the implementation of the Incentivised Scheme of Early Retirement indicate that some 1,902 Public Servants have applied for the Scheme and 1,231 applications have been approved.

Detailed information has been received by my Department in relation to 914 of the approved cases. Based on these returns, gross salary savings will be €8.3 million in 2009, €55 million in 2010 and €63 million in 2011, inclusive of savings on Employer's PRSI contributions. These gross salary savings do not take account of short-term offsetting costs of lump-sum payments, or the costs of pension payments to retirees.

The returns from the Departments also indicate that 81% of approved applicants are expected to have retired through the ISER by the end of 2009 with the remaining 19% expected to have retired through the ISER by the end of 2010. The ISER was open to applications made until 23 October 2009, and accordingly there will be no additional take-up of the Scheme in 2010.