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

Unfortunately, the agencies operating under the remit of my Department and every other Department are being reduced in size. That is the reality within which we are working. There have been reductions of approximately 15% in staff numbers. Departments and agencies have been required to seek to work in a smarter way by reorganising their activities. Enterprise Ireland has been particularly flexible in seeking to reallocate staff resources to areas of priority and responding to the changed environment in which it must operate. Obviously, there is pressure to continue to operate with the reduced staff numbers. Enterprise Ireland's performance in recent years is testimony to its success in doing that. The approach we are pursuing, which involves building collaboration between the local enterprise offices, Enterprise Ireland and the local authorities, is helping to extend the reach of all agencies at a time of diminishing staff resources for all of them. We have to think outside the box as we try to deliver with a reduced staff resource.

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