Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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156. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the number of positions as director of services which remain unfilled across the country; the location of such vacancies; if any such positions have been suppressed; the number and location of such positions which have been filled on an acting basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3177/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service was introduced in March 2009 in response to the financial crisis. My Department operates a delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium in relation to local authorities, and any exceptions to the moratorium in local authorities require sanction from my Department.

Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each City and County Manager is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible. In this regard, it is a matter for City and County Managers, in the first instance, to ensure that the moratorium is implemented while the appropriate service levels are maintained.

My Department examines all staffing sanction requests on a case by case basis having due regard to the continued delivery of key services in the context of staffing and budgetary constraints. In considering sanction requests public safety, maintaining key front line services and economic issues are given precedence .

While information regarding staffing levels in local authorities is collected quarterly by my Department, the data gathered do not provide detail in respect of individual grades or job titles within each local authority, and accordingly, the information requested is not available in my Department.

Recent staffing sanction requests in relation to Director of Service posts are outlined in the table below: