Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of vacant civil servant or public servant positions in her Department on 1 October 2009, and in the State bodies or organisations answerable to her; the grade and the average duration of the vacancies; and if an application has been made to have these positions exempted from the public service recruitment and promotions embargo. [35041/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The Department of Finance directed that with effect from 27th March 2009 to the end of 2010 no public service post, however arising, may be filled by recruitment, promotion, nor payment of an allowance for the performance of duties at a higher grade. Any exemptions to this principle require the prior sanction of the Minister for Finance. Since the introduction of the moratorium on staffing to 1st October 2009 the following staff (wholetime equivalents) have left my Department.

The figures above do not include (i) staff movement resulting from the Government's Decentralisation Programme or (ii) staff appointed to support the Minister/Ministers of State whose contracts expired when the relevant Minister/Minister of State ceased to hold office or (iii) one staff member who was employed on a temporary basis under the WAM programme.

No applications have been made to the Department of Finance requesting exemptions from the moratorium on staffing in relation to the vacancies arising as a result of staff leaving the Department. The vacancies generated have been managed through the re-organisation of work and re-allocation of work among remaining staff. Further staff, especially at Principal Officer and Assistant Principal Officer levels will retire over the coming weeks.

The information relating to the agencies that come under the aegis of my Department is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.