THE GOVERNMENT’S early retirement scheme for civil servants had done little to resolve the economic crisis as only 2 per cent of staff have availed of it, Fine Gael frontbench member Simon Coveney has said.
Figures released in response to a parliamentary question from Mr Coveney on the Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement showed that, by the end of September, only 815 out of 35,000 civil servants were taking early retirement.
“Fianna Fáil and the Greens had hoped that the Incentivised Scheme for Early Retirement would cut the Civil Service pay bill significantly.
“However the 111,000 workers in the Health Service Executive could not avail of the scheme as the HSE has suspended the scheme because of a disagreement with trade unions. This leaves the 35,000 civil servants employed in the country.
However, the most recent figures available from the department show that only 815 people were granted leave under it, a paltry 2.3 per cent.
“The money this scheme saves will do little to address the €26 billion deficit the country faces.
“An analysis of the figures shows that zero top earners in the Civil Service availed of the scheme, and those leaving are mainly focused at the lower end of the pay scale.
“The scheme itself was a laudable effort, but clearly will have only a minor impact on the major challenge to tackle the hole in the exchequer finances,” Mr Coveney said in a statement.
