Written answers

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Department of Public Expenditure and Reform

Office of Public Works Staff

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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75. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there are any plans for recruitment in the Office of Public Works in the next 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48431/13]

Photo of Brian HayesBrian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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All recruitment undertaken by the Office of Public Works is governed by the necessity to remain within the staffing limits directed by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform through the Employment Control Framework (ECF), together with level of funding made available to meet payroll costs. Recruitment of additional permanent staff is subject to the sanction provided via that Department.

In relation to Established staff, the Office of Public Works (OPW), through the Public Appointments Service, is currently in the process of filling the posts of Engineer Grade II (Fire & Security) and Director of the Botanic Gardens.

In relation to our State Industrial staff, there are no plans to recruit permanent staff in the near future. However, as occurs annually, it is intended to recruit the 2014 seasonal complement of staff in due course, principally to meet the demands of arterial drainage maintenance work and to augment guide staff at our heritage sites and/or visitor centres. The recruitment of seasonal guide staff for 2014 was recently advertised to the public.

In addition, the OPW, in conjunction with the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (R.I.A.I.) and Engineers Ireland sponsors work placement training programmes for Graduate Architects and Graduate Engineers respectively.

The training programme for the Graduate Architects provides practical experience for those wishing to prepare for the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (R.I.A.I.) (NUI) examination in professional practice or RIBA Part 3 examinations. Since 2004, 95 Graduates have been placed on the programme including 24 who are placed currently – with limited scope for additional placements in 2014.

The training programme for the Graduate Engineers assists them in attaining the skills and learning required to become Chartered Engineers. The programme involves taking in 10 graduates per year over a rolling 3-year cycle, up to a maximum of 30 graduates. A competition to place a further 10 Graduates is nearing completion and the successful candidates will be placed in January, 2014 which will bring the total placed to 30.

While not in a position to offer further employment opportunities, the Office is committed to partaking in the FÁS Work Placement/JobBridge programme and has facilitated almost 60 placements since 2011.

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