Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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49. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on reports of an exodus of 141 Department of Agriculture staff in 2014; his plans to replace these staff; his views that this loss of staff will cause a reduction in services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39453/14]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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In the context of the current fiscal position, the necessity to have a civil service that operates efficiently and effectively is more important than ever and my Department has been very focused on reorganising our work practices with the objective of driving efficiencies and realising savings. Our staff numbers have reduced by over 1,600 between 2004 (4,800FTE) and the end of December 2013 (3,154FTE). Within my Department, Workforce Planning is used as a tool to forecast current and future staffing needs and to assist in achieving the right balance between labour demand and supply so that the right numbers of employees, with the right skills are available at the right time. My Department continually reviews staffing levels in all areas of operation in light of operational needs and overall Government policy on staffing levels.In the context of effective service delivery, I am satisfied that there are adequate processes in place in my Department to ensure that sufficient resources areavailable to maintain our high levels of customer service.