Workers in the Irish Prison Service took the most sick days in the public sector, at 15.2 on average last year

Public sector workers took nine sick days on average last year at a cost of €381 million to the state, according to latest figures.

Workers in the Irish Prison Service took the most sick days at 15.2, followed by the Ombudsman for Children’s Office at 14.3 and the Department of Social Protection at 12.7. Workers in the President’s Office took the fewest sick days at 2.8 on average, followed by staff at the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment at 3.5 and the Department of the Taoiseach at 4.8.

Paschal Donohoe, the finance and public expenditure minister, said: “Overall savings in the cost of sick leave across the public service continue to be made, however, further work needs to be done to reduce the impact