Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 274: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which a review has been carried out of the degree to which staff reductions in sensitive or front-line areas arising from targets associated with national recovery and affected by the public service recruitment ban are likely to affect the delivery of services in sensitive areas; if a means can be found by way of relocation or otherwise to ensure that the structures, integrity and viability of the sectors affected are not damaged to the extent as to make them unworkable; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4066/12]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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In the first instance, responsibility for operational planning in the context of reducing resources rests with the relevant Public Service body and its parent Department. Public Service organisations must fully use all mechanisms set out in Public Service Reform Plan for discharging work including reorganisation and redeployment of staff. Only after this will the issue of recruitment for current or emerging business needs arise.

Should a Department identify a potential exception to the moratorium on recruitment the sanction of my Department must then be sought. Exceptions to the Moratorium may be granted on the following basis:

a) statutory posts which have to be filled for legal reasons;

b) where failure to fill posts would result in a breach of EU/international

regulations and impact upon exports etc.;

c) safety related posts - failure to fill them could leave the state open to

potential legal liabilities or for security reasons;

d) specialist/technical posts to ensure continuity of operations e.g. legal

officers; laboratory staff, maritime safety, etc.;

e) to ensure continuity of front-line services.

In addition, in the case of the Education and Health Sector, a number of grades are exempted from the Moratorium in order to ensure that these vital services are maintained.

Each Sector in the Public Service has been establishing its own Strategic Workforce Planning Group to ensure that sectoral employers are developing plans to deal with the operational and strategic consequences arising from staffing reductions in the coming years. The sectoral groups are liaising with the central Strategic Workforce Planning Forum under my Department.