Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of public sector employees in County Donegal. [47361/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of public sector employees in counties Louth, Cavan and Monaghan. [47362/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 104: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of public sector employees in County Donegal earning under €20,000, €30,000, €40,000, €50,000, €60,000, €70,000, €80,000, €90,000 and €100,000. [47363/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of public sector employees in counties Louth, Cavan and Monaghan earning under €20,000, €30,000, €40,000, €50,000, €60,000, €70,000, €80,000, €90,000 and €100,000. [47364/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 106: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of public sector employees in County Donegal earning more than €100,000 per annum. [47365/09]

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for Finance the number of public sector employees in County Donegal earning more than €150,000 per annum. [47366/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 102 to 107, inclusive, together.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the latest relevant historical information available on the incomes of employees taxed under the PAYE system is derived from income tax returns filed for the income tax year 2007 representing about 96% of all returns expected at the time the data were compiled for analytical purposes. On this basis the total numbers of public sector employees in the counties mentioned by the Deputy, and the breakdown of those numbers by income ranges, is set out as follows:

An estimated breakdown of the figures on a geographical basis is available on the basis of "bailiwick", meaning, in this case, the jurisdiction or boundaries within which Revenue Sheriffs, County Registrars or their officers operate for the purposes of enforcement of tax debt. It equates geographically with "county" while also providing separate breakdowns for "city" and "county" in the case of counties Dublin and Cork. The data relating to the allocation by city or county of PAYE employees should be treated with caution. This is because it has been the practice to associate each employee with the city or county in which his or her employer is registered for PAYE purposes, regardless of the address of the actual workplace or of the individual's home address. Additionally, the tabulated data does not distinguish atypical work patterns and earnings by employees such as work sharing and temporary or short term work.

The source of the information provided in relation to numbers and tax is the P35 end year returns filed by employers in respect of their employees but does not include the corresponding figures relating to PAYE taxpayers who are required to return an income tax return form 11 where non-PAYE income is greater than €3,174. The data also includes various forms of income from public sources to groups that would not normally be regarded as being employed within the public service, e.g. those receiving fees, those on State Boards etc. It should also be noted that as the data dates from 2007, it does not reflect developments since then; in particular the revised contracts for Hospital Consultants which are being implemented this year.

The sector identifier used on the tax records is based on the 4-digit NACE code (Rev. 1), which is an internationally recognised economic activity code system. The information provided in relation to Public Sector employees is based on activities which are classified in the NACE code system as Public Administration and Defence; compulsory Social Security, Education and Health and Social work but excluding the categories of Driving School Activities, Dental Practice Activities and Veterinary Activities as being more appropriate to the Private Sector. A married couple, which has elected or has been deemed to have elected for joint assessment, is counted as one tax unit.