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Irish Times
24-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Civil service grows by 50 per cent in last decade
The number of civil servants has increased by nearly 50 per cent in the past decade, according to figures released by the Department of Public Expenditure . The numbers of civil servants have increased in all grades but it is at the middle-ranking grades where the increases have been biggest. There are just under 53,000 civil servants employed by the State, the figures show, a subset of the more than 400,000 people who work in the broader public service. That shows an increase of more than 50 per cent from the 36,000 civil servants in the State in 2015, though that number had declined from the 2000s during the years of austerity. READ MORE The rate of increase in the Civil Service is higher than the public service more generally, which has seen numbers grow from about 300,000 in 2015 to more than 400,000 today. Figures supplied to the Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne show there were 30 secretaries general in 2015, plus four second secretaries general. Today there are 37 secretaries general and no second secretaries. There were 20 deputy secretaries general in 2015 and 22 today; and 224 assistant secretaries in 2015, and 281 today. The number of principal officers has increased from 1,281 to 2,061; assistant principals from 3,568 to 6,816; higher executive officers from 4,424 to 7,161; administrative officers from 2,029 to 3,726 and executive officers from 5,981 to 11,526. Annual salaries for secretaries general range from €245,000 to €275,000; assistant secretaries from €166,000 to €190,000, principal officers from €104,000 to €139,000, and higher executive officers from €58,000 to €75,000. After several years of austerity in the wake of the financial crisis, the government had begun to roll back public sector pay cuts and the headcount reductions in many areas of the public service by the end of 2015. In the period since, there has been a rapid expansion of public sector numbers, while pay levels have also rebounded quickly for public servants. In part this was a response to the end of the austerity years, but it was also a response to population growth and the consequent demands on public services. The numbers of healthcare workers, teachers and other providers of public services have all increased considerably. The total public sector pay bill has almost doubled in the 10 years since 2015. 'We are a country that is growing rapidly and government is more complex so we need a Civil Service to match. But we also need to ensure that increases in numbers result in increases in productivity and efficiency,' Mr Byrne said. 'More and better civil servants should help us prepare for housing delivery as well as ensuring we have the necessary digital and energy infrastructure for the future, not trying to force government into binary choices.'
Irish Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Government departments and agencies take mixed approach to AI, survey finds
Fewer than half of Government departments and agencies had facilitated training in artificial intelligence systems at the onset of 2025 as the organs of the State attempt to keep pace with the rapidly advancing technology and its potential applications. Detailed responses to questions from 18 Government departments and 40 other official bodies at the end of January show a widely varied patchwork of approaches, with some embracing the technology and others avoiding its use, at least for now. Just slightly more than half indicated the existence of, or plans for, tailored policy. Last week, the Department of Public Expenditure published updated guidelines on the ethical use of AI by civil servants. It has launched resources designed to support the adoption of AI, including a framework for evaluating potential use, and freely available courses for staff. READ MORE 'AI offers immense possibilities to improve the provision of public services,' Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said. 'It is crucial that we embrace that change and adapt quickly in order to deliver better policy.' To date, however, many agencies have relied solely on broad guidance documents circulated in recent years and have not yet tailored individual policies, explored available technology or implemented training programmes. Eighteen Government departments were surveyed on their approach to AI A breakdown of responses issued to Malcolm Byrne, the Fianna Fáil TD set to chair Ireland's nascent Oireachtas committee on AI, shows training has been provided or planned for in half of Government departments, and in just slightly more than half of State agencies. Individual, targeted policies, meanwhile, exist or are planned for in about a third of departments and in about 60 per cent of sub-agencies responsible for specific aspects of the State bureaucracy. Fourteen Government departments specifically ruled out the use of AI in the design or formulation of legislation, although there is no indication of its use to do so in any. Although not all departments indicated individual policies, many reference their adherence to broader documents issued in recent years. These include guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), taking in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) which produces original output in response to prompts from users. The National AI strategy and interim guidelines for the public service, issued in January 2024, are also referenced, while the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, which came into force in August 2024, has implications for policy formation. Mr Byrne said he hoped the new guidelines for the Civil Service would prompt a shift in thinking. 'There were certainly some positive examples [of AI use in January's responses] . . . but I was a bit concerned that it was very much an abundance of caution, ranging from 'do not use AI in any circumstances' to 'well, we might see some use in the future',' he said. 'My view is that public services should be using AI for the purposes of efficiency gains . . . to remove mundane tasks so that large swathes of the public service can spend more time focusing on policy issues.' [ Artificial intelligence to be used in drafting Government department documents Opens in new window ] As well as the provision or lack of training and policy, responses from 58 organisations offer a snapshot in time as to how AI is viewed, variously, by officials. The Department of Finance, citing NCSC advice, told Mr Byrne that GenAI ought not to be used to generate responses to correspondence such as parliamentary questions or public representations, or in designing or drafting policy. Staff at the Garda National Data Protection Office have undergone training in assessing the risks of AI systems in relation to data protection issues. The Agri-Food Regulator said the use of GenAI was not permitted, a policy in line with the Department of Agriculture . Similarly, the National Transport Authority (NTA) said the use of GenAI was prohibited 'by default', while recognising its potential benefits. Elsewhere, there are signs of the technology being embraced. The Loughs Agency, which protects fisheries, said it was developing AI for use in validating its fish counters. The HSE has set up an implementation working group for the use of AI in the public health sector. Unlike the majority of agencies, Teagasc, the agriculture and food development authority, said it uses large language AI models, while acknowledging this 'presents risks that must be managed'.
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
US tariffs could jeopardise planned tax cuts in budget, warns Minister
Promised tax cuts in the budget may have to be jettisoned if the EU fails to secure a tariff deal with the US, Minister of State for International Development Neale Richmond has warned. Speaking in advance of the launch of a new report on the State's bilateral trade with Germany, Mr Richmond said the shock to global trade from US tariffs had left the Irish economy in a 'tight' situation and that October's budget would be 'very different' from its predecessors. Mr Richmond's comments represent a growing school of thought in Government that believes it would be fiscally reckless to repeat the windfall budgets of recent years at a time of such economic uncertainty. Senior sources acknowledge that Ministers will still be seeking spending increases for their departments during the budget process. READ MORE However, the hands of the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure are likely to be strengthened by the threatening international situation, even if a feared decline in corporation tax revenues does not arrive in the coming months. 'The likelihood of cost-of-living measures in this year's budget is very remote . . . equally there will have to be a real consideration in relation to promised tax cuts,' said Mr Richmond, while noting that capital spending on vital infrastructural projects would be prioritised. [ US tariffs: Why Trump U-turned on his bombastic tariffs and what it means for Ireland Opens in new window ] 'There's no point burying our head in the sand and saying everything is going to be great based on this new take on global economics,' added Mr Richmond, referring to US president Donald Trump 's attempt to rewire the global economy through tariffs. 'We have to be prudent with the country's finances . . . we can't let ourselves be completely ignorant of global events and run budgets that aren't reflective of the risks that are very paramount at the moment,' he said. Mr Richmond will launch a fresh report highlighting the Republic's trading ties with Germany in the Irish Embassy in Berlin on Wednesday. The report indicates that Germany is now this State's third-largest trading partner in terms of exports, behind the United States and the United Kingdom, accounting for €48.8 billion of trade in goods and services in 2023. It also indicates that the State's trade surplus with Germany increased sixfold between 2018 and 2023 to stand at €28.5 billion, an increase that the report links to Brexit. 'Following Brexit, Irish exports to Germany flourished in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors, potentially reflecting a deeper intra-EU integration as consequence,' it says. The report indicated that the Republic was Germany's 16th most important export destination, while Irish companies in Germany employed almost 60,000 staff in 2022. 'Now that we're at a slightly precarious time in terms of global trade, where are our most reliable trading partners, the EU and who is our biggest trading partner within the EU? It's Germany,' said Mr Richmond. Meanwhile, the Government has denied that Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris were at cross purposes when expressing views on the US-UK trade agreement. [ Donald Trump's tariffs pose a 'major risk' to Ireland's economy, Makhlouf warns Opens in new window ] On Friday, the Taoiseach made comments that seemed to welcome the deal struck between US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir Starmer, and said he hoped a similar arrangement could be struck between the EU and US. The Tánaiste told the Cabinet meeting, however, that the US-UK deal would help solidify and normalise tariffs as part of the 'new normal'. The Taoiseach's spokesman, speaking at the post-Cabinet briefing in Government Buildings on Tuesday, said Mr Martin was responding to the dramatic reduction of tariffs being imposed to more reasonable levels. Mr Harris's spokesperson said the Tánaiste was trying to provide an analysis to Cabinet of what he understood the US-UK deal to be. He said the Tánaiste had said that there was 'a new normal, a new reality, where tariffs exists'. Mr Martin also held a 20-minute telephone discussion with Mr Starmer yesterday on the UK-EU summit, which will be held on May 19th. That will look at ways of improving the trade relationship between both blocs.
