Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

If the Deputy will bear with me, I have to hand a note which hopefully will provide him with the information he seeks. The anticipated question was on what savings have been achieved under the employment control framework, which came in just before the present Government took office but which is within approximately the same time period. Under the employment control framework, core staff numbers were reduced by 7.3% between December 2008 and December 2010, which was significantly in excess of the 6% reduction that had been required. As this happened under the previous Administration, I claim no credit for it. Core staff numbers were reduced further in 2011, bringing the total reduction against 2008 up to approximately 9%, which is an increase of just under 2% by the end of December 2011. It is to be noted that over the same period, overall public sector numbers decreased by 7.2%. As further reductions are required in the sector in 2012, it is anticipated that core staff numbers will have been reduced in total by a minimum of approximately 10% by the end of December 2012. In the context of reducing staff numbers as outlined above, full-time student numbers increased, as I noted earlier, by 17,000 or 12%. Furthermore, institutions continue to engage proactively with sectoral labour market initiatives such as Springboard.

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