Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.

I am advised by the Attorney General that currently the sanctioned complement of permanent staff in the Office of the Attorney General is 133. There are 117 staff members serving and 16 vacancies. The office also currently has 13 contract staff. The breakdown among the various parts of the office is as follows: the advisory side of the office currently has 33 permanent staff serving with one vacancy and, due to part-time working arrangements, the equivalent of one further vacancy.

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, OPC, currently has 23 permanent staff engaged in the drafting of legislation. There are also four vacancies at assistant parliamentary counsel grade II, which is the entry level for drafting staff. The breakdown by grade of permanent drafting posts is as follows: one chief parliamentary counsel; one first parliamentary counsel; four parliamentary counsel; seven assistant parliamentary counsel grade I; and 14 assistant parliamentary counsel grade II, including the four vacancies. In addition, there are currently five consultant parliamentary counsel engaged on a contract basis in the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government to draft legislation.

The administrative side of the office has 61 staff serving and ten vacancies. Due to the moratorium on recruitment and the need to make savings, there are no plans to fill these vacancies. Eight other contract staff are engaged by the office. Four are legal researchers, three are the Attorney General's private staff and one is engaged as a research assistant. Two legal researcher positions have been left vacant since last autumn as cost saving measures. The complement of staff in the Office of the Attorney General is kept under constant review to ensure it is sufficient to meet the demands of the Government's legislative programme.

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