Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I respect that the Deputy raised this matter in some detail on Committee Stage when we opposed the amendment. The staffing needs of the offices of my Department are kept under constant review, including through participation in the workforce planning process initiated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in 2012. That process required all areas of my Department to provide detailed information on current staffing resources and to estimate the predicted skills needs of each area up to 2015. The offices of my Department are subject to the same constraints and pressures that apply generally across my Department. The moratorium on recruitment and the need to reduce staff numbers to comply with challenging targets imposed by the employment control framework mean that there is little scope to increase staff resources in response to what might otherwise be regarded as a legitimate case for increased resources. Assignments in my Department are made by reference to the priority needs of the Department and its offices as a whole. This will remain the case. On that basis I am not in favour of the amendment.

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