How many work in the public sector and how much are they paid? Olivia Kellyoutlines the variety of jobs and salaries
OF THE 357,175 people working in the public sector, only one-tenth are employed in the Civil Service.
By far the greatest number, more than 112,000, work in the health service.
Nurses are the largest group of health workers, with full and part-time nurses and midwives accounting for just over 34 per cent of the service or 38,092 jobs.
Their salaries range from €25,277 for student nurses to €86,311 for directors of nursing in the larger hospitals.
Doctors and dentists are a much smaller group with 8,122 employees.
A newly-qualified intern has a salary of €35,534, compared with €240,000 at the top of the scale for a consultant.
Administrative staff are a much larger cohort of health service workers with 17,973 employees, whose salaries begin at €24,407 for a clerical officer, with a director of national hospitals having a salary of €194,264.
The remainder of the health service is made up of almost 16,000 health and social care professionals, such as pharmacists, speech therapists and physiotherapists, almost 13,000 general support staff including cleaners and porters and just over 18,000 patient care staff such as family support workers and home help organisers.
Education is the next biggest public-sector employer, with 92,480 employees.
The majority are teachers, with just over 55,000 across the primary and secondary system and nearly 12,000 lecturers and researchers at third level.
The remainder includes staff such as teaching assistants, special needs assistants and educational psychologists, as well as school and college support staff including caretakers and secretaries.
Teachers’ basic salary scales start at €32,599 and rise to €65,807, not including allowances for academic qualification or additional responsibilities.
The next largest group are the 40,000 working in commercial semi-State bodies. These include a wide range of companies such as the ESB, An Post, RTÉ, Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Port, Coillte, Bord Gáis and Dublin Port.
Salaries vary widely in these organisations, with some workers in clerical and administrative positions and others in jobs ranging from electricians to broadcasters.
The Civil Service is the next largest group with more than 35,000 members ranging across all Government departments. The salary scales are based on the clerical and administrative roles, but it also employs technical and professional staff such as architects, engineers, accountants and lawyers.
The largest group of civil servants are clerical officers, with more than 12,000 people working at this general entry grade of the service.
Their salaries start at €24,397. There are several higher grades of administrative and executive officers, with the top positions occupied by Government department general secretaries on salaries of up to €233,610.
Civil servants appointed after April 6th, 1995, pay the full rate of PRSI and are consequently on a higher salary than those appointed before that date, who pay a lower rate of PRSI. The majority of civil servants are now on the higher rate.
Local authorities are another of the State’s largest employers with almost 35,000 workers in city, county, town and borough councils.
The highest paid council worker is the Dublin city manager who makes €202,461 a year. Cork county manager is next in line, earning €171,313, while other county managers earn €136,581 – €157,967.
At the lower end of the scale are rent collectors with salaries of €27,860 – €36,573.
The Garda stands at 14,874, including recruits and traffic wardens. Garda pay starts at €27,098, with the Garda Commissioner earning €232,500.
The Defence Forces employ more than 11,000, with salaries starting at €13,403 for a newly-enlisted private to the chief of staff who earns €211,362.
Non-commercial semi-State bodies, such as Teagasc and the IDA, account for just over 12,000 workers, and, as with commercial semi-State bodies, jobs vary.