The number of public service workers has surged by about 120,000 – or more than a third – over the past decade, with some of the biggest increases taking place in State agencies.
The public service workforce stood at 420,000 in June, up from 310,000 in 2016, and is projected to rise to 440,000 by the end of this year.
These include staff employed across the Civil Service, the health service, local authorities, An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces along with non-commercial State agencies.
At least one in six workers in Ireland, and one in 12 people, are now employed by the Government or the State in the public service.
The size of the public service sector has grown significantly, almost doubling in the last four decades, from 218,000 in 1980, with a notable acceleration in the growth of the sector over the last 10 years.
Health and education have seen the biggest increase in personnel, while defence was the only area to record a decline in staffing. This was mostly due to a reduction of 1,370 in Army numbers to 6,416 this year, according to Department of Public Expenditure figures.
The largest increase has been recorded in the health sector, where there are now 46,000 more whole-time equivalent staff employed than a decade ago.
At the end of June, there were 155,214 whole-time staff employed directly in the HSE and in voluntary hospitals and agencies. This rose to 173,836 when those working part-time or job sharing are included.
Data from the Department of Public Expenditure also shows a large increase in the number of staff in 95 non-commercial State agencies where more than 20,000 were employed last year. This figure stood at 12,659 a decade ago.
These organisations include regulators such as media watchdog Coimisiún na Meán, health regulator, the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), and others supporting businesses or sectors such as the inward investment agency, the IDA, or tourism promotion agency, Fáilte Ireland.
One of the largest bodies in the non-commercial State agency sector is the child and family agency Tusla, which has 5,632 staff, up from 3,617 a decade ago, according to figures provided to Labour finance spokesman Ged Nash in a reply to a Dáil question.
Staff numbers at the Central Bank, regulator of the financial sector, have risen from 1,565 in 2016 to 2,068 in 2026.
There has been a marked increase both in the number of regulatory bodies and staffing in these organisations.
Employee numbers at Hiqa have risen from 189 to 494 over the past decade.
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In local authorities, staffing levels also have increased. There were 32,600 whole-time equivalent personnel employed across the 31 local authorities at the start of 2026 compared with 26,801 in 2016.
The 94 per cent rise in the number of public service workers since 1980 has significantly outpaced the increase in the population, which has grown from 3.4 million to 5.5 million, an increase of 62 per cent in that period.
The number of public servants per 1,000 people has risen to its highest level, rising from 64 per 1,000 people in 1980 to 77 per 1,000 people in June.
These figures, published by Department of Public Expenditure, do not include those employed in commercial companies owned by the State such as Dublin Bus, Irish Rail or broadcaster RTÉ.
The size of the Irish public sector workforce is in proportion with that of other European countries.
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A 2025 OECD report, Government at a Glance, put the estimate for Ireland at closer to one in five workers employed by the Government and State when considering total employment.
This put Ireland in line with France (21 per cent) and Slovakia (19 per cent).
Still it ranked above the OECD average of 17 per cent.
Wealthy Scandinavian countries ranked the highest, with almost one in three workers in Norway employed by the government (30 per cent). Japan had the lowest at 5 per cent, while the figure was 15 per cent in the US.
Of the €133 billion spent on public expenditure this year, €36.2 billion went on pay and pensions, making up more than a quarter (27 per cent) of total expenditure.
Pensions accounted for just over €5 billion, some 14 per cent of the total pay and pensions bill.
The public service pay deal announced this week, which will deliver pay increases of 10.75 per cent over two years and nine months, is estimated to cost the State a further €5.2 billion.
