Paper payslips cost State €2.2m

The Government has no plans to return to centralised payment of public servants despite spending more than €2.2 million a year issuing printed payslips, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has said.

While several Government departments have transferred pay information to an electronic format, many public servants still receive paper payslips with associated printing costs.

All public servants were until the late 1980s paid, in paper format, through a centralised system, which was then devolved to each Government department. While the issue of electronic payments for public servants was being considered as part of the Comprehensive Expenditure Review, there were no plans to return to centralised payments, a spokesman for the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said.

The use of electronic payslips varies considerably between departments. The Department of Education has the largest number of employees still received paper payslips with a corresponding highest printing costs. The payslips for some 94,000 school employees, pensioners and other staff cost €1.48 million to print.

The Department of Justice spent the second largest amount, with costs of €510,641 on paper payslips for 20,799 employees and 9,026 pensioners in agencies accountable to it and a further €8,655 on payslips for 754 department employees.

Employees of some Government Departments and agencies do all receive pay information in electronic form, these are: Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation; Revenue Commissioners; the Valuation Office the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

Independent TD Denis Naughten, who obtained the figures in response to Parliamentary Questions, said they represented a “shameful waste” of money.

“Right across Government Departments cuts are being implemented which are small on savings but big on impact, yet at the same time basic back room costs such as issuing paper payslips continues,” he said. “While Departments may try to dismiss these costs as being minimal, when considered as a proportion of the overall cost of the pay bill it clearly shows an ethos of not rooting out non-frontline costs within the public sector.”

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform said that there were some staff, including teachers and gardaí who may not have access to computers and required paper payslips.