Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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192. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of public sector employees currently in receipt of a salary; the annual cost of these salaries; the cost of restoring pay to 2018 levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18813/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Based on the current data available to my Department, the total number of public service employees currently in receipt of a salary at end of December 2016 was some 307,000 (full-time equivalent)-FTE). The Exchequer Paybill for 2016 at €15.7bn gross provided for the annual cost of the salaries for approx. 279,000 (FTE) public servants. It should be noted that Local Authority staff, of which there are some 28,000 (FTE), are not funded through the Exchequer Paybill.

Further relevant up-to-date information on public service numbers can be found on my Department's website .

The Government has, through the negotiation and agreement of a financially prudent public service agreement on pay and related issues, provided for a gradual unwinding of the FEMPI measures as they apply to public servants. The terms of this agreement, the Lansdowne Road Agreement, are being implemented under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 with effect from 1 January 2016 at a full year cost of €844m to 2018. This approach has also enabled resources to be assigned for the ongoing recruitment of additional front line public service staff such as Gardaí, Teachers and Health professionals to support the delivery of our vital public services.

After full implementation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, the cost of repealing the remaining FEMPI pay reductions is estimated at some €1.4 billion plus PRSI.