Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

As the Deputy is no doubt aware Ireland is committed under the EU-IMF programme to reducing the overall size of the public service pay bill.

Over the past number of years, enhanced numbers, monitoring systems and multi-annual employment frameworks have been put in place. These arrangements will be strengthened to ensure that effect is given to Government decisions on public service numbers, including temporary staff.

The Government is committed to reducing public service numbers to 282,500 by the end of 2015 as part of its reform agenda. The overriding objective is to have a more customer focused, leaner, efficient and better integrated public service which delivers maximum value for money. However, I wish to make clear that it is part of the day-to-day function of the management of all public bodies to assess, budget and plan for current and ongoing staffing requirements within existing resources. Again, it is a matter for local management to determine the appropriate recruitment method for such temporary staff. This data is not held centrally.

In the case of my own Department, there are 21 persons currently working in a non-established capacity on fixed-term contracts and contracts of indefinite duration. In addition, there is one contractor working in the IT unit in the role of senior technical network service administrator. The IT unit undertakes a market exercise each year to fill the senior technical role position. The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, which is under the aegis of my Department, currently has ten contract audit staff, whose work is expected to amount to approximately 4.4 whole-time equivalents in the calendar year. The staff are all professionally qualified and assist that office during periods of peak demand for audit services. The use of these contract staff is fully sanctioned and is limited by the amount of sanction granted. The office also has two whole-time equivalent agency staff who provide front of house security and reception-telephony services and eight students on internship from the University of Limerick, who work with audit teams for about nine months during the year before returning to their studies. The office provides any information requested of it to my Department on monitoring and managing costs.

As data on the number of agency and contract staff currently employed in the public sector is not held centrally it would be a matter for individual Departments to provide details to the Deputy in respect of their agency and contract staff.

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