Westmeath ranks high on civil servant list

Westmeath has one of the highest civil servant populations of any county in Ireland.

The data came to light in a recent Dáil question when Wicklow –Wexford TD, Fianna Fáil’s Malcolm Byrne, asked for an outline of the number of civil servants across all government departments based in Dublin; and the numbers in each location outside of Dublin.

Addressing the question, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Jack Chambers, delivered the numbers: “It has been reported to my department that, as of end September 2025, a total of 26,560 civil servants (26,113 full-time equivalents) were employed in Dublin, and a further 25,603 (25,484 FTE) in other counties as set out in the table below.

“A further 1,096 employees (1,087 FTE) are located outside of these counties and are largely employed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and serving abroad.”

Westmeath has the fifth highest number of civil servants at 1,304 full-time employees and a headcount of 1,334.

Civil servants in the county are employed in a number of offices including: Westmeath County Council (WCC), the Revenue Commissioners, the State Examinations Commission, Court Offices (district and circuit court in Mullingar and Athlone), and the Health and Safety Authority.

Dublin ranks highest on the list with 26,113 full-time and a head count of 26,560, more than all 25 other counties combined.

Only Cork (2,727), Limerick (1,933) and Laois (1,625) have a higher number of government department employees than Westmeath.