Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, together.

There are currently 207.5 whole-time equivalent staff working in my Department. This compares with 203.5 whole-time equivalent staff on 31 December 2017.

My Department is structured around seven main work areas. The breakdown of posts currently in each of these areas is as follows: 29 posts in the international, EU and Northern Ireland division; 25 posts in the economic division; 27 posts in the Government secretariat, protocol and general division and the parliamentary liaison unit; 16 posts in the social policy and public service reform division; 33 posts in the corporate affairs division; nine posts in the information and records management unit; and 18 posts in the Government Information Service. The latter includes the press office and the strategic communications unit, which is currently in transition to a new arrangement. There has already been a reduction of three staff, or 14%, in this area in recent weeks.

The remainder of posts in my Department include services staff and those in the private offices, constituency offices and internal audit.

My Department uses workforce planning and succession planning to ensure there are sufficient staffing resources in place to deliver the Department's strategic goals.

With the exception of politically appointed staff such as special advisers, staff assignments, appointments and recruitment in my Department are dealt with by the Secretary General and senior management.

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