John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of staff in the civil service on 1 March 2025 compared with 1 March 2020 and 1 March 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15977/25]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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146. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there is a strategy in relation to staffing numbers in the civil service in the years ahead; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15978/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 146 together.

Delegated sanction is the policy in place across most of the public service for the management of public service staffing levels since 2015. Civil Service numbers are managed by Departments within the context of overall public service numbers and published pay bill allocations.

Delegated sanction was introduced by Government in 2015 to provide Offices and Departments with flexibility to manage identified business needs subject to remaining within overall pay ceilings. Delegated sanction permits Departments to fill vacancies through recruitment and/or promotion in specified, designated grades up to and including Principal Officer (PO) standard or equivalent. The policy was revised in October 2024 to extend to previously sanctioned posts at grades at Principal Officer higher level, and equivalent grades, and Assistant Secretary level, subject to there being no change to the job specification and/or the terms and conditions attaching to the vacant post being filled. New posts at these levels and changes to the job specification and/or terms and conditions of previously sanctioned posts, continue to require the prior, explicit consent of the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform.

Delegated sanction is subject to the overall pay bill ceiling as set out in the Revised Estimates Volume (REV). Projected staffing numbers and composition should fall within the parameters of the Department’s pay bill. Failure to remain within a given Exchequer pay bill allocation may result in the withdrawal of delegated sanction.

In terms of civil service numbers, there were 50,512 employed at end-February 2025, which includes 3,555 prison staff that are included within the category of civil servants. This is an increase of 9,575 over the end-February 2020 total of 40,937 (includes 3269 prison staff) and an increase of 15,975 over the 34,537 (includes 3,247 prison staff) employed at end-February 2015. These figures are represented in full-time equivalent terms and are the most recent figures currently available to my Department.