Each department is led by a senior civil servant known as the Secretary General (often referred to as "departmental head" in the media).
The Revenue Commissioners, Central Statistics Office, Office of Public Works, Comptroller and Auditor General, Courts Service of Ireland, Director of Public Prosecutions, Legal Aid Board and Prisons Service are all considered to be part of the Civil Service of the State, as opposed to being non-commercial semi-state bodies, like Fáilte Ireland and IDA Ireland.
The affected personnel, mainly postal and telecommunications workers, were transferred to An Post and Telecom Éireann, respectively.
[3] The health sector in Ireland makes up the largest part of the Irish public service, with a total staff of 105,885.
[3] The justice sector refers to policing in Ireland, specifically the Garda Síochána, which has a workforce, not counting civilian staff of 13,261.
State agencies are, for the most part, established through legislation by the Dáil and overseen by the relevant committee of the Oireachtas.