As Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services, Reform and Digitalisation, with responsibility for public service pay policy, I have responsibility for matters relating to the pay of public servants. The details requested in respect of public servants are set out below.
On the basis of the latest available end March 2026 staffing and pay range information available to my Department, the estimated annual base salary cost for public servants with salaries of €100,000 or more is €4.3 billion. Estimates are based on basic salary range (excluding allowances, premium pay and overtime) but include employer’s pay related social insurance and, as such, the overall cost would be higher if these elements, for which my Department does not hold the necessary data to provide a breakdown, were to be included.
This estimate included the Exchequer and Local Authority pay bill. As this estimate is based on aggregated data across both the Exchequer funded and Local Authority funded pay bills, detailed data in the format sought by the Deputy (broken down by Department and state agency) is a matter for the respective Minister responsible for the Department/Agency concerned.
In relation to pension costs, the average notional employer cost is estimated to be approximately 29% of salary in respect of those in the pre-2013 pension schemes and approximately 9% for those in the Single Scheme. These figures represent the cost of pension net of employee contributions but not the Additional Superannuation Contribution (ASC) paid by employees.
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Estimate
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Estimated annual base salary cost for public servants with salaries of €100,000
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€ 4.3 Billion
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I am not responsible for the setting of pay for employees outside the public service, which in general includes those in commercial State -sponsored bodies or bodies funded by the State outside the public service.
However, concerning Chief Executives in commercial State bodies, following a review by the Senior Public Service Remuneration Committee (SPRC), Government agreed in April 2025 to implement a more structured and consistent approach to the remuneration of Chief Executives across commercial State bodies through the introduction of a new banded salary structure for such posts. Under this approach, it is the responsibility of the Board of the CSB to propose a point on the relevant band salary band and this is subject the approval of the relevant Minister, and my subsequent consent.
