Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 300: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the names of agencies which provide staff for her Department and for bodies and agencies under its aegis; the services they provide; the numbers of staff they provide; the cost of those services; the way this compares with direct employment of staff in equivalent roles; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36232/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Prior to the introduction, in April 2009, of a moratorium on recruitment to the civil and public service, all permanent staff for my Department were recruited, by way of a competitive process, through the Public Appointments Service. There is limited sanction available to the Department for recruitment of temporary clerical officers and medical assessors. Whether in respect of permanent or temporary staff, there is no direct cost to my Department in relation to those recruited through the Public Appointments Service. This delivers efficiency gains to my Department who might otherwise have to be engaged in recruitment.

The Agencies that operate under the aegis of my Department are the Pensions Board and the Citizens Information Board (CIB). Prior to the moratorium mentioned earlier, the agencies recruited their own staff directly by way of advertising on their website and on www.publicjobs.ie which is the website for the Public Appointments Service. As an exception to the moratorium, the Pensions Board received sanction to recruit an additional 12 staff. The positions were advertised internally within the Department's intranet site, on the Board's website and on www.publicjobs.ie .

Since the moratorium, the CIB occasionally used temporary staff to cover a receptionist post. The temporary receptionists have been recruited from Griffin Personnel/Irish Recruitment Consultants and Top People/HRM. Cover has been provided so far this year for 19 days which amounts to a charge from the recruitment agencies of €2,896.74. The cost for 19 days for the equivalent post in CIB is €2,221.29.