Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 249: To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department has conducted a review of staffing complements in Departments which received large numbers of additional staff for specific purposes; his plans to reallocate such staff to deal with other work in different areas of the Civil Service; and the way the reallocation of these staff will impact on the CAF and DCAF processes. [13025/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Given the size of the public service pay and pension bill as a component of overall Government expenditure, Ministers are required to control and regulate public sector numbers within their respective areas. It is the responsibility of each Minister and his or her Department to ensure that staff employed in their areas of responsibility are deployed as effectively as possible to meet current work and service priorities. My Department becomes involved when significant changes in work patterns have led to staff becoming available for redeployment outside their own Department (e.g. my officials have been working with the Department of Agriculture & Food to redeploy staff from that Department following the successful introduction of the Single Payment Scheme).

Any such redeployment exercises will, of course, continue to be integrated with the operation of the CAF or Dublin arrangements, as appropriate, following appropriate consultation with staff and management interests.

Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 250: To ask the Minister for Finance if his Department has conducted a review of staffing complements and staff duties in the Office of Public Works; if he plans to reallocate excess staff to deal with other work; and if so, the way the reallocation of these staff will impact on the CAF and DCAF processes. [13026/07]

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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There are no excess staff in the Office of Public Works (OPW). The staffing complement in the OPW operates within authorised staffing levels that are agreed on an on-going basis with the Department of Finance.

The Decentralisation Programme includes the relocation of OPW to three locations: Trim, Co. Meath, (OPW HQ); Claremorris, Co. Mayo and Kanturk, Co. Cork. OPW continues to review the staffing position with regard to the totality of its functions and the timeline applicable to moving the organisation to the three locations involved. The staff exchange process under the CAF and DCAF is on-going and it is not envisaged that an excess staff scenario will arise within OPW.