Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 515: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons in terms of whole-time equivalents employed in third level institutions prior to the introduction of the moratorium; the estimated number currently employed; the target point at which point the moratorium will end; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20047/10]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 516: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the number of third level lecturers in terms of whole time equivalents employed prior to the introduction of the moratorium; the estimated number currently employed; the target point at which point the moratorium will end; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20048/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 515 and 516 together.

The total number of whole time equivalent staff employed in third level institutions at 31 December, 2008 was 21,149. It is estimated that at 31 March, 2010 the number employed was 20084 whole time equivalents. Disaggregated data on the number of lecturers that are included in these figures are not available in my Department. However the information has been sought and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available. The purpose of the Government decision to implement a recruitment and promotion moratorium in the public sector is to facilitate a permanent, structural reduction in the numbers of staff serving in the public sector and is intended to contribute significant and ongoing savings to the Exchequer. In applying this moratorium generally, teaching and research activities in the education sector have been afforded significant exemptions relative to other areas of public expenditure. Nonetheless, the Deputy will appreciate that the sector has to contribute towards overall public sector numbers reductions.

In the area of higher education, the Government agreed that an employment control framework be developed to provide for the application of the moratorium arrangements to higher education institutions, subject to the continued oversight and review by the HEA and both my Department and the Department of Finance. The Government is anxious to work with the publicly funded higher education institutions in achieving necessary reductions in public expenditure within the sector as an essential part of overall budgetary strategy. The employment control framework aims to enable this while providing a greater flexibility around recruitment in the filling of posts, on the basis of achieving a minimum 6% reduction in the number of overall core staff by end of 2010 as compared with the numbers in place at 31 December 2008. It is a matter for the individual higher education institutions to manage their staffing resources in the context of implementing the framework.