Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Departmental Resourcing: Discussion

2:25 pm

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It depends on the complexity of what is provided and whether it accords with the sections provided. I am not an expert in the assessment, but it has been acknowledged by the officials that there were resourcing constraints due to the retirement of individuals, which put a strain on the Department such that only one official was in a position to deal with this issue and who had the corporate memory and the knowledge of the history of this, which dates back many years. The Secretary General has acknowledged that was a constraint, which resulted in this taking longer than expected.

We would make every effort that should such a request be made, it would be handled expeditiously. The Department is managing resources to the best effect across a range of issues. That is what we were invited here to discuss. We have had much work to do across a range of issues and we have managed those. It has been acknowledged by officials that, because of a combination of events, this took longer than expected. The Secretary General indicated that it took longer than it should. We recognise that, but the deployment of resources is a matter not for the Minister, who sets the policy objectives, but for the Secretary General, who seeks to deploy the resources to the best effect. That has been done. I do not know whether Mr. Murphy wishes to comment.

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