Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 431: To ask the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will provide a detailed breakdown in tabular form of the recommendations outlined by the report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes which have been accepted and implemented by his Department; the savings that have accrued as a result of such changes to expenditure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34479/10]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes presented a set of options to reduce expenditure and staff numbers across the public sector. These options were considered by the Government within the context of framing the 2010 Budget.

Gross savings of some €57 million, or almost 12%, were achieved in the 2010 Revised Estimates Volume (REV) for the Vote of the then Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, relative to the 2009 REV. While the allocations in most expenditure programmes were reduced, the primary concern was to make every effort to ensure that the daily front-line services provided with funding from my Department were protected, especially those focused on the needs of the most socially deprived communities.

With regard to the reduction in staff numbers, the Government's moratorium on staff recruitment and promotion and other associated measures, including the incentivised early retirement scheme, have achieved, and continue to achieve, reductions in staff numbers across my Department and relevant agencies.

Finally, as part of the restructuring of Departments and agencies announced in March last by the Taoiseach to ensure greater coherence and produce more efficient delivery, my Department has taken over responsibility for (i) social inclusion policy and family policy from the Department of Social Protection and (ii) equality, disability, integration and human rights from the Department of Justice and Law Reform. As stated by the Taoiseach in this context, it is important, while addressing the priority issues in responding to unemployment and driving economic recovery, that we do not lose sight of the importance of social development, the targeting of the most vulnerable and support for those working to make a difference right across our communities.

In light of the foregoing, and ongoing consideration of options in the context of the forthcoming Budget, it is not considered that the provision of a tabular statement as requested would be useful at this time.