Ireland’s expanding State: Public service workforce grows by more than a third in just 10 years

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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…

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.

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