Mr. John Kinnane:

As Deputy Breathnach has said, we have gone through a period during the downturn when the numbers in the public service were significantly reduced. Over the past four years the number of staff in the public service and Civil Service have grown, in terms of health and education, and in Departments. The human resources side of my Department is working on the whole idea of workforce planning and ensuring that the Department has the right staff and skills to meet the demands on the services that are being delivered. That is something the Department is considering in the context of Civil Service workforce planning.