Earnings within the Irish public sector have increased by an average of 3.4 per cent over the last 12 months, new official figures show.

According to the Central Statistics Office, average weekly earnings within the sector, though excluding the health service, now stand at 941 euros, representing a 12 per cent increase on the figure recorded at the same time three years ago.

The biggest winners over the period were workers in the public defence sector, who have seen their weekly pay increase by 17.5 per cent to 973 euros, while law enforcement officials also benefited from a marked increase in weekly pay.

At the same time, the figures also show that the number of people employed in the public sector has risen by 20,000 over the past three years alone, though this trend has been stunted so far this year.

Currently, some 371,200 people are employed within the public sector in Ireland, though the release of the CSO data comes as the Irish Times has reported that the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programs is due to launch its own report outlining possible money-saving measures, including job cuts.