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

I do not think we are ever entirely happy with what staff we have. We are not under the obligation to reduce numbers to the extent that we had been. There has been some opening of positions within the Department. We have been able to fill some very strategic posts so I think we are in a good place but we are still in a limited environment. The integration of Forfás has been very helpful to the Department in terms of building up our policy capability. It brought in new expertise and created that policy connection with service delivery which has improved our interface with our own agencies. I am happy with where we are. There has been some recent recruitment and promotions. That is going on in the Department and it is good.