THE GOVERNMENT has defended the incentivised scheme for early retirement from the public sector as it emerged that almost 7,772 applications were received before the deadline last night.
Critics say the departure of so many senior public servants before the end of February will cause turmoil in education, health and the Garda Síochána, and will save far less than the Government is forecasting.
Those leaving include 3,500 in the health sector, 2,000 in education and 1,000 in the Civil Service. However, applicants can change their minds up to the last day before leaving, so the overall number could fall.
Minister for Public Enterprise and Reform Brendan Howlin said staff shortages in any specific areas would be dealt with by redeployment and, if necessary, recruitment. He acknowledged that some staff had given very short notice of retirement but said there was “no escaping” this and planning had been ongoing for a long time.
Mr Howlin denied that the scheme was enhanced or incentivised as it merely allowed retiring public servants to have their pensions and lump sums based on pay levels they enjoyed before pay was cut in 2010.
Sinn Féin public expenditure spokeswoman Mary Lou McDonald described the Government’s handling of the departure of so many public servant as “a mess”.
“On the one hand we have the Government actively encouraging the loss of at least 7,700 mostly frontline positions from the public sector and then on the other the Minister states he intends to recruit up to 3,000 new workers.
“Experienced senior nurses, headmistresses and gardaí will leave the service at the end of this month yet the Government has no plan in place to deal with the inevitable shortages in services that will result from next month’s exodus.”
Fianna Fáil’s Seán Fleming called on Mr Howlin to publish the Government’s plan to protect frontline services and fill the staffing gaps to arise from the early retirement scheme.
“It is simply not good enough for the Government to say ‘we have a plan’. That has to change and change quickly.” The number of applications under the scheme is short of the 9,000 the Government is forecasting will leave the public service this year.
However, a spokeswoman said the target could yet be reached by the end of the year.
She said most of those availing of the scheme were within 12-18 months of normal retirement age anyway. In a normal year, about 5,000-6,000 staff retire.
The department was unable to say yesterday what the net cost of the retirement scheme will be, because this information was not collated centrally.
The State’s pension bill has soared by 67 per cent over the past five years, to €2.39 billion last year. Under the Public Sector Reform Plan, the Government plans to cut overall public sector numbers by 37,500 between 2008 and 2015. This reduction of 15 per cent is expected to shave €2.5 billion off the public sector pay bill in the period.
