Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in view of the suspension in 2009 in accepting new applications to many farm schemes including REP scheme, installation aid and early retirement scheme, the reductions in administrative and inspection staff in the years 2010 and 2011. [43764/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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My Department manages staff numbers and their assignment on an on-going basis to ensure the most effective and efficient delivery of services. Restructuring has been a feature of my Department since early 2005 and overall staff numbers have reduced by some 1,500 full time equivalent (FTE) staff in that period. Assessments of needs and the assignment of resources take account of a range of factors such as the workload under existing schemes and services, including those schemes that may be closed to new applicants, the implementation of new schemes, the level of inspections required under EU regulations, food safety and other regulatory obligations and, in recent years, the changes in staff levels and work practices arising from the rationalisation of local offices. The Department must also have regard to the moratorium on recruitment and promotion and the constraints imposed by overall staff numbers as set out in the employment control framework.

Staff numbers in the Department fell by 249 and 107 in 2010 and 2011 respectively.