Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This grouping proposes minor amendments to sections 31AA and 31AC of the Bill to provide that the staff of the office will be civil servants in the Civil Service of the State. Under section 31AI, the Minister may provide services and resources to the office. It envisages that staff may be seconded on a temporary or permanent basis to the office and that premises, equipment and other services may be made available to it. This will ensure that the office can be established and begin performing its functions as quickly as possible.

Having examined the matter further, savings are likely to be made through the use of shared services in areas such as payroll, human resources and IT, which can be assessed if the staff of the office of the planning regulator are employed as civil servants. Providing that the staff of the office shall be civil servants will also enable their speedier recruitment through the Public Appointments Service, PAS, and access to panels from open competitions as well as ease of staff secondment in the initial phases of the set-up, which will facilitate getting the office up and running in a shorter timeframe. This amendment does not affect the independence of the regulator, which is already clearly provided for in section 31R.

To clarify the employment basis of the regulator further, a minor technical amendment is proposed to section 31W to include superannuation in subsection (1) as one of the terms and conditions of appointment that will be subject to the Minister's decision and the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

I am also proposing a minor technical amendment to section 31AX(2) to more accurately reflect that the power to bring proceedings for an offence under the section is held by the planning regulator as distinct from the office of the planning regulator.