Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I think what we will do is get back to topic. The NTA has a low number of permanent staff with the biggest increase taking place in 2018 when 114 permanent staff were employed, compared with 91 for each of the previous years. In December 2018, the NTA received delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for 140 permanent staff for 2019, an increase of 26 on the number of staff sanctioned for 2018. The NTA also has 148 outsourced placements from third-party service providers, necessary to deliver its strategic programme. Discussions on staffing requirements for 2020 are ongoing with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The high volume of outsourced placements, which make up 57% of the staff represents a significant cost for the NTA. On average an outsourced placement is double the cost of a permanent staff member. Within the premium cost of the use of outsourced personnel over direct NTA employees is VAT at 23%, which cannot be reclaimed by the authority. The resourcing changes planned for 2020-2021 will deliver a resourcing mix change over the five-year period from 2018 to 2023 from a ratio of nearly 43:57 to a ratio close to 68:32 in favour of NTA direct employees.

See this speech in context