Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. There have been changes in the Department of Health. Broadly they have been positive. The Department is in a much better position now than it was when I was appointed to office. There is a strong culture of decision making, more openness and more stakeholder engagement. For example, we saw that in respect of the Bill that passed Committee Stage in this House last night. A strong senior team is in place and it is working well. I have seen important changes and improvements in performance in the Department of Health. I acknowledge the team that works there and the Secretary General who has been involved in leading important changes in the Department. He deserves great credit for that.

I will turn specifically to the numbers in the Deputy's question. The headcount in the Department at the end of 2019 was 521. It increased to a high point in October 2021 of 714 and then went back down again to 649 at the end of last year. The big increase was due to a number of seconded and contracted staff whose employment was short term by nature. As the Deputy will appreciate, many of their contracts were connected to Covid-19. Churn in any organisation is normal. The Department of Health is not unique in that. A review of figures reported by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform shows that for 2021 the churn at the Department of Health is broadly in line with other Departments and I expect we will see that for 2022 as well. Last year, 65 staff left the Department at assistant principal grade and above. This number includes staff whose secondments and contracts to the Department ended, staff who were successful in Civil Service mobility as well as those who retired.

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