Recent Recruit and looking for rough figures.

Hi,
I'm a recent recruit to the civil/public service and am wondering to those of you who have been recruited in the last year or two have you been able to get figures on the 'buy back' costs for pensions?
Does anyone have any rough figures as to how much it costs to buy back each year of say, Clerical Officer pension?
All I know locally is that it is supposed to be extraordinarily expensive, but I am awaiting clarification in my department as to the cost. I'm not a union member.
How is the buy back deducted? Weekly from wages? In a lump sum?
Also, if a person takes a career break or unpaid paternity leave etc can they buy the pension contributions for this period too?
I presume across the public/civil service sectors you need 40 years contributions with the exception of say the emergency services?
So if you have 30 years of 40 worked you get three quarters of the pension lump sum and weekly pension unless you buy back years?
Any rough/old figures on the cost of each 'year? Cheers

Are you in the new Single Scheme? If so, there is no mechanism as of yet to purchase additional pension/lump sum, although the 'Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform is to make regulations to so provide' according to the info booklet http://www.per.gov.ie/single-scheme/

I was only able to buy back the time after 65 so I would say you'd only be able to buy back the ones you would loose if you took a career break or unpaid leave that would leave you short of 40 years. I was paying out of my salary fortnightly.