Benchmarking awards will cost the Exchequer at least €612 million next year, according to estimates from various Government Departments.
The cost, which represents half of the estimated final cost, emerged following a series of Dáil questions by Fine Gael leader Mr Enda Kenny.
Mr Kenny told The Irish Times that these new figures proved the cost of benchmarking was "spiralling out of control" and should be renegotiated. He claimed the figures suggested that the 2004 bill would be 100 million above estimated benchmarking costs given by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, in July. Those figures suggested a benchmarking bill for 2004 of 513 million, according to Mr Kenny.
However, the figures collated by Fine Gael suggested that the total bill arising next year for 13 of the 15 Government Departments, and other public bodies such as the Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána, is 612 million. This figure does not include the cost of benchmarking in local authorities.
University College Cork economist Dr Aodh Quinlivan told a Fine Gael conference at the weekend that benchmarking would cost councils 57 million next year.
A breakdown of the figures provided to Fine Gael last Thursday revealed that 300 million, or nearly half of the cost, was accounted for in awards to the education sector.
"This money could have doubled the schools building programme," Mr Kenny said.
A further 189 million has been set aside by the Department of Health for benchmarking payments to health professionals.
Some €25 million has also been allocated for benchmarking awards for An Garda Síochána, which Mr Kenny said would have provided for an extra 1,250 gardaí on the streets.
More than €20 million will be paid in benchmarking awards next year to the Defence Forces, and 5.7 million has been set aside for awards in the Prisons Service.
Under the agreement signed last year, public sector workers are entitled to average pay rises of 8.9 per cent to be introduced on a phased basis. One-quarter of the award was paid this year, and backdated to 2001. In 2004, workers can expect to be paid half of this award, with the full amount being awarded in 2005.
The previous estimate of the final annual cost of benchmarking to the Exchequer was 1.1 billion. Based on the figures obtained by Fine Gael, however, the cost will exceed 1.2 billion.
Mr Kenny started a major campaign against benchmarking at Fine Gael's parliamentary party's annual two-day meeting last month in Killarney.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has rejected his calls to renegotiate the benchmarking deal. At the time, he said there was "no question of renegotiating it".
"It is not the soft option. If Enda Kenny doesn't want to pay our public servants well that is... his policy. That is fair enough."