Public service employment numbers up by 3,000 in Q1 2009!

[politicaldonations]

3000 more on board the gravy train. Cowen is reckoning he can get away with not dropping PS pay much more abd get the other 80% of working population to foot the bill. He reckons he can get enough votes from PS and their families etc on top of FF's base to get into government again at next general election.

[PrinceMax]

€973.04 is the average.

[adamirer]

So do you have to do the job of two civil servants by watching the Sopranos and the Wire on your computer at once or can you stay late and watch them one at a time?

you'd assume we'd be on something more capable than Win2000 and cd drives for that wouldn't you...
the wit and debate here... fabulous....

[Keith-M]

Cutting public sector "benefit" seems to be the way to go. If these 3,000 workers were on short term contracts to work in Social Welfare to speed up the process, it'd be forgivable. If they're off into the bowels of the HSE...

There is no situation where this is forgivable. Given the downturn in economic activity there must be thousands (more) public servants doing nothing. If they were in th private sector they would be deployed to where there was work.

[adamirer]

lads, read the times article, public service numbers dropped 2,100 jan-mar 09, not up 3,000.

Newstalk (in fairness to the OP) got it wrong.

[one acre capitalist]

I think this is a welcome development. There is much work to be done. We need a massive fiscal stimulus. What better than to employ people doing vital public service. We should have 50k more.

Every one a party supporter as well.

[Proposition Joe]

I think this is a welcome development. There is much work to be done. We need a massive fiscal stimulus. What better than to employ people doing vital public service. We should have 50k more.

Every one a party supporter as well.

In these straightened times, FF simply must find a more cost effective way of bribing voters.

The future salary and pension costs of public sector make-work jobs just aren't sustainable anymore.

Would ye consider instead giving Ahmadinejad-style cash handouts to the backward ill-educated masses? As opposed to employing them as clerical officers.

[one acre capitalist]

In these straightened times, FF simply must find a more cost effective way of bribing voters.

The future salary and pension costs of public sector make-work jobs just aren't sustainable anymore.

Would ye consider instead giving Ahmadinejad-style cash handouts to the backward ill-educated masses? As opposed to employing them as clerical officers.

A massive expansion of the FAS CE scheme for unemployed construction workers should be considered. We should borrow billions from the ECB QE scheme to do it.

[H.R. Haldeman]

I recently saw a figure (perhaps on p.ie) for the increase in staff numbers at social welfare offices over the last 10 years...I can't find it now, but the increases in that time of full employment were absurd to the point of being comic. One of the very best exemplars of the cretinism of C***** T**** Ireland.

[Proposition Joe]

A massive expansion of the FAS CE scheme for unemployed construction workers should be considered. We should borrow billions from the ECB QE scheme to do it.

But I thought the walls around Michael 'Stroke' Fahey's farm are all sorted out now, or?

Though I guess he could knock them down again and have them rebuilt on the tax-payer's dime a second time.

All in the national interest, like.