Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 137: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding long-term temporary employees who have been employed in the Passport Office in Cork, in view of the recruitment drive being made for full-time staff; the rights temporary workers have under European legislation that limits the rights of an employer to terminate employment of contract workers who have been employed over a period of time; and if it is expected that temporary contract staff will lose their jobs as a result of the new recruitment drive. [31433/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Department has recruited Temporary Clerical Officers in the Passport Offices in Dublin, Cork and Balbriggan over many years in order to meet the additional demand for passports in the period leading up to the busy summer season. In recent years the number of passports issued by the Department has reached record levels. This, in turn, has increased the Department's reliance on temporary staff. In 2006, a total of 189 Temporary Clerical Officers were recruited to work in the three Passport Offices.

In the Cork Passport Office, a total of 47 Temporary Clerical Officers were recruited in 2006. Of these, thirty were engaged for the first time this year, while nine were first recruited in 2005. Of the remaining eight temporary staff, two were offered their first temporary contract in 2001, four in 2002 and two in 2004.

The terms and conditions of employment of the temporary staff in the Passport Offices are governed by the provisions of the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Workers) Act 2003, and the Department is fully aware of its obligations under this Act.

In July this year the Department received sanction from the Department of Finance to recruit an additional 19 supervisory staff for the passport service, and to convert 121 Temporary Clerical Officer posts to permanent positions. Arrangements for the recruitment of the additional staff are currently being planned. It is expected that the majority of the posts will be filled by early 2007.

In the case of the Cork Passport Office, the number of new permanent Clerical Officer posts which has been approved is 34. In filling these vacancies, the Department will comply with Civil Service recruitment policy, as set out in the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004, which provides the framework for fair and open competition for permanent posts in the Civil Service. It will also take account of the rights of temporary staff under the Protection of Employees (Fixed Term Workers) Act 2003. In this regard, the Department will take due account of the outcome of the case, currently before the Labour Court, concerning the employment status of six Temporary Clerical Officers in the Passport Office in Dublin.

The Deputy will wish to be aware that, despite the creation of a significant number of new Clerical Officer posts in the Cork Passport Office, there will continue to be an ongoing requirement for temporary clerical staff to cover the continuing increased demand for passports. Therefore, in line with the practice which has existed up to now, the most experienced temporary clerical staff will be the first to be again offered temporary employment in the Cork Passport Office next year.