Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 421: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will give details of the number of staff in his Department for each of the years 2005 to 2010, inclusive; the level of expressed interest in availing of early retirement form his Department before February 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32188/11]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Full-time equivalent (FTE) staff numbers in my Department at the end the years referred to by the Deputy were as follows: End- 2005: 4,441 End- 2006: 4,245 End- 2007: 4,300* End-2008: 4,245.1 End-2009: 3,881.0 End-2010: 3,632.2 *The increase in staff numbers in 2007 resulted from the addition of some Fisheries functions and associated staff to the Department's remit during that year.

To date, nearly 500 requests for estimates of retirement benefits have been received in the Pensions Section of my Department since early January 2011. Approximately 71 staff under 65 years have retired or will retire in 2011. To date, a further 26 staff have formally indicated their intention of retiring in January 2012 and February 2012. These numbers do not include a number of staff retiring on age regulations.