230 Deputy George Lee asked the Minister for Finance the number of staff employed by his Department in 1997 and 2009 broken down by job title and grade; the pay bill for each job title and grade for 1997 and 2009; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3123/10]

The grades, numbers and salaries paid to staff employed by my Department in 1997 and 2009 are set out in tabular format below.

The salary figures in the above tables are Point of Scale / Off Point Salary details as recorded on the Department's Staff information Systems (Censis for 1997 and CS SIP for 2009). The Department's paybill, which includes salaries, allowances, overtime and PRSI, was €18.047 million for 1997 and €42.224 million for 2009. Finally, the 2009 salary rates have decreased with effect from 1 January 2010 in line with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009.