Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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496.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated full-year cost of ensuring that every public sector worker is paid a minimum of €15 per hour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32612/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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498.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of people working in the public sector earning less than the living wage of €15 per hour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32614/24]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 496 and 498 together.

In relation to the civil service, for which my Department holds detailed data, the suggested Living Wage at €15 per hour based on the civil service 35 hour standard net working week equates to an annual salary of approximately €27,395. Detailed data on civil service staff indicates that approximately less than 0.2% of staff (FTE) in the civil service are on salary points less than the suggested Living Wage. It is expected that this number will reduce significantly on implementation of the next pay adjustment of 1% or €500, whichever is greater, due on October 1 2024 under the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026.

Those currently on an annual salary of less than €27,395 may be receiving remuneration in excess of the suggested living wage through additional premium payments in respect of shift work or atypical working hours. In addition, these salary scales progress to the suggested Living Wage and above through normal incremental progression.

The current public service agreement is Public Service Agreement 2024-2026. In total, the Agreement provides for increases of 10.25% over a two and a half year period. This is made up of general round increases totalling 9.25%, as well as a provision for a Local Bargaining mechanism equivalent to 1% of the basic pay cost. Over the lifetime of the agreement, the lowest paid public servants will see benefits of up to 17.3%, inclusive of the local bargaining provision.

The public service information sought in this request would require detailed data on the position of staff on each salary scale across the public service and details of the standard working hours per week for each individual grade. This data is not held in my Department.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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497.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the estimated full-year cost of ensuring that every public sector worker earning under €100,000 receives a pay increase of 10% in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32613/24]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The total public service pay bill figure (inclusive of Local Authorities) for 2024 is estimated to be €27.5 billion. This includes all elements of pay, including basic pay, allowances, overtime, premia, and employer PRSI. The estimated cost of a 10% pay increase for public service workers earning less than €100,000 would be approx. €2.6 billion.