5. Employee benefits expense

The average number of employees during the financial year was as follows:

 

2022

2021

Ferries

202

197

Container and Terminal

86

86

 

288

283

The number of employees at financial year-end was

288

284

Aggregate costs of employee benefits were as follows:

 

2022

2021

 

€m

€m

Wages and salaries

19.7

17.2

Covid-19 government subsidies

-

(1.4)

Social insurance costs

2.0

1.7

Defined benefit obligations – current service cost (note 31 vii)

1.7

1.7

Defined contribution pension scheme – pension cost (note 31)

0.4

0.3

Share-based payment expense (note 30)

3.0

1.3

Total employee benefit costs incurred

26.8

20.8

There were no staff costs capitalised during the financial year (2021: €nil) in relation to management and supervision of the contracts for the construction of new vessels.