asked the Minister for Finance the approximate number of employees in the public service; and the number of days which have been lost in the past year due to sickness.

The approximate number of employees in the public service on 1 January 1988 was 211,000 (including about 32,000 in local authorities). The non-industrial civil service for which I have direct responsibility numbered about 30,000 on 1 January 1988 and it is estimated that approximately 3.3 per cent of working days per person are lost annually due to sickness in the Civil Service.